Itachi: Truth of Insanity
by Oni244
Summary: To save a precious person, even a sane man will fall into insanity. Itachi knows this truth very well, since he killed his entire clan for one. It's been four years since that day, and now the world will see the fruits of that one act. AU Naruto x FemHaku
1. Chapter 1

"Normal Speech"

_-Thoughts-_

**"Demon Speech"**

**"Jutsu!"**

XXXXXXXXXX

**Itachi: Truth of Insanity**

Chapter 1: The Uchiha Massacre and the Fox Boy

Itachi Uchiha, the pride of the Uchiha clan, the child prodigy. He had graduated the Academy at 7, mastered the Sharingan at 8, and became chuunin at 10. Now he was a squad captain of ANBU at 13, having recently also gained the rank of Tokubetsu Jonin to be allowed into the ranks of the organization, and his father still continued to push his career higher and higher. Add in the endless hoards of fan girls that constantly chased after him, and he's possibly the most famous Uchiha and shinobi in Konoha's history.

"AND I'M SICK AND FUCKING TIRED OF IT ALL!"

Itachi's training dummy burst into flames as he turned to another to let out his rage. His punches left dents in the wooden body and soon it shattered under his blows. He stepped back from the destroyed dummy and flicked his wrist, pulling on a string attached to his hand. Three dummies flew at him from a nearby tree, an exploding tag on their torsos. He unsheathed his ANBU regulation sword, and with his Sharingan flaring time seemed to slow down around him. When he deactivated the Sharingan, the dummies split into thousands of tiny pieces, his sword already back in its sheath, and the exploding tags only had slightly singed corners around the ruined seal in the center of the paper. Looking around his secret training area, taking note of the other various destroyed training equipment, Itachi let out a sigh and walked over to a nearby boulder to meditate. _–Why do I never seem to relax? Ah yes, father and his constant babbling about being a 'true' genius of the Uchiha clan. 'A genius never relaxes, much less an Uchiha.' He always says. 'If you are an Uchiha then you must train and become the greatest Itachi!'-_

Shaking his head to try and clear the words of his father out of his head, Itachi slowly calmed his breathing and began his meditation, only to be interrupted by an ANBU appearing beside him. He wore a bear mask, and judging by the small kanji hidden in the masks markings he was another captain much like Itachi. "Itachi-san, your presence is requested by the Hokage. Please do not keep him waiting." And with that the ANBU vanished again into the shadows. Itachi slowly stood up and gathered his equipment before donning his raven ANBU mask, the small kanji of his captain rank hidden under the black feathers around the left cheek of the mask, and headed toward the Hokage Tower.

XXXXX

Itachi appeared inside the waiting area of the Hokage Tower and knocked on the door to the Hokage's office. A muffled acknowledgement came from inside, and Itachi quickly slipped inside. Sarutobi, the Sandaime of Konoha, had his back to the door as he peered out the window and down on Konoha. Itachi bowed silently to the Hokage before he removed his mask and attached it to his belt. "You wished to see me Hokage-sama?" Sarutobi waved for him to take a seat, not bothering the turn away from window. Once Itachi had seated, the Hokage turned to him and smiled. "Good to see you Itachi-kun. Before we begin, let me congratulate you again on becoming a squad captain at your age. Very impressive if I may say so." Itachi flinched for a second, his earlier rage over the whole matter rising to the surface, but he quickly recovered and masked it, although his voice was slightly strained. "Thank you…Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi did notice the slight shift in emotions, but decided to leave it alone. "I have a mission for you Itachi-kun, an S-rank one. However you won't be leaving the village on this one."

Itachi raised an eyebrow in surprise. S-rank missions were very rare, especially during the peaceful times that had recently come over the world. They also were very dangerous, mainly leading to the death of those assigned to one in order to complete it. And to have it involve something inside the village… "Might I ask what this mission requires of me?"

"You shall see, but only after you answer a question of mine. Understand I wish you to answer this with the utmost truth." Itachi noted the serious undertone of the request, making him worry all the more about what his question would be. Sarutobi paused before asking it, taking out his pipe from inside his robes. After lighting it and taking a quick puff, he turned away from Itachi and looked over the village again.

"What do you think….of Naruto Uzumaki?"

Itachi froze at this, his mind flashing through all the long conversations his father and others of his clan held about the boy. No matter what it involved about the boy it always ended with wishes of killing him. No one liked the boy, often calling him 'demon' and 'monster'. Nobody in fact hated the boy more so than the Uchiha clan, which probably stemmed from the large amount of Uchiha's who had been slain in the attack. Not even the Hyuuga's, who had also been in the front lines in large numbers, had suffered as many casualties as the Uchiha. Itachi himself didn't care too much for the boy beyond being grateful to him for keeping the demon at bay all these years. He was sensible enough to see the difference between a young child and the towering fox demon. But his father would constantly remind him to kill the boy should he ever have a chance, saying that the village would praise him and call him a hero should he ever slay the 'demon'.

"What do I think Hokage-sama?" asked Itachi. The Hokage simply nodded, not turning from the window. "Well…my father says…"

"I am not asking your father about his opinion. I myself already know it." said Sarutobi, a hint of anger in his voice as he spoke. "I asked what you believe about the boy. Do not answer with what your clan believes, only answer with what you hold to be the truth."

Itachi hesitated, although he did not know why, before he answered. "I believe…that Naruto-kun is indeed a hero as the Fourth Hokage wished he would be. He has kept the Kyuubi at bay from breaking free all these years after all. I believe...that those who view him as a demon…are demons themselves if they have ever tried to harm the boy."

The Hokage turned from the window, and possibly the biggest smile was on his face. He sat down in his chair and removed his pipe from his mouth. "Then it appears I have chosen well then. Now let us continue. Your mission is to act as a bodyguard for Naruto. This mission will be ongoing until you wish to end it, or events prevent you from continuing. Do you accept?"

"I do Hokage-sama…but…my father might object…"

"Do not worry about it Itachi-kun. I know how your father is, and so that's why this mission had such a high rank, so as to allow it to be top secret. If anyone asks about this meeting…then simply say that I invited you here to congratulate you on your promotion, it wouldn't be that much a lie too after all." Itachi smiled and stood up to leave, bowing once before placing his mask back on and heading toward the door.

"One last thing Itachi-kun..." Itachi turned around, and his eyes widened slightly behind his mask when he saw the serious expression on the old mans face. The Sandaime Hokage was famous for his kind hearted and forgiving nature, so much so that it was rumored that he would even go as far as forgiving his former student Orochimaru for all the crimes he committed if he were to simply return to Konoha and repent for them. So seeing the normally kind Hokage with a gaze soaked in killer intent and all the power of his title behind it, it was truly a sight to fear and respect. "If you should ever encounter anyone harming Naruto…then you have my permission to capture them and send them to Ibiki to play with. And if any were to break a certain law, especially in Naruto's presence…."

Itachi knew the Hokage had no need to finish his statement, for it was obvious what he had left unsaid was. Bowing once more, Itachi left the office and vanished in a swirl of leaves once back inside the waiting room.

XXXXX

_-So…how do I find the boy? -_ thought Itachi as he walked along the streets, avoiding the occasional fan girl mob from time to time. _–From what I've heard of the boy he tends to avoid large groups of villagers. With the streets as full as they are today…-_ Holding back another sigh, Itachi jumped to the roofs and expanded his senses, hoping the boy's chakra could be detected. _–Perhaps the boy's signature will be unique thanks to the Kyuubi's influence…Hm? -_ Instead of detecting the boy, he instead heard him shout from a nearby ramen shop as he passed by.

"Hey old man! Another miso ramen please!" yelled Naruto as he placed another empty bowl of ramen besides him. Next to that bowl teetered an impressive sized tower of empty ramen bowls, at least 7 in total, 8 though with the latest bowl.

"Hmm…it appears he has quite an appetite on him…" Itachi slowly moved to a rooftop right across from the shop and sat down, cloaking himself with a mild genjutsu that would hide his presence from others. Despite the large amounts of empty bowls already beside Naruto, he felt he would be there for a while as the blonde finished his meal.

XXXXX

Several weeks passed from that first night at the ramen shop. Itachi had continued his watching of Naruto, staying in the shadows and guarding him whenever a threat appeared. During the day Naruto would head over to the academy and train when lunch came around, or sometimes he would simply skip altogether to just pull a prank on the village or work overtime with his training. Whenever he did decide to go to the Academy, he didn't takes notes or read the textbooks, instead he would constantly goof off. Whether it was pulling a prank on his classmates and teacher with some of his fellow classmates, to eating food with the Akimichi in his class, or even sleeping with the Nara, he just never seemed to care about learning anything, even while he still shouted about becoming Hokage. Of course with all of this he spent most of the time after class with his teacher Iruka, dealing with some form of punishment or another. From there he would head straight to Ichiraku Ramen and of course eat his body weight, height, and who knows what else in ramen. It made Itachi sick a lot of the time at the speed Naruto would eat his ramen at. After paying with his allowance and waving goodbye to the owner and his daughter, Naruto would often wander the streets or other times he would head to the forest and train some more. But many times he would also be attacked by the villagers. Needless to say Itachi fulfilled his duty of being Naruto's bodyguard and dealt with them.

Now Itachi found himself in such a situation once again as he silently watched in the shadows. When the villagers normally attacked he would wait until Naruto had his eyes shut or when the villagers had left to deal with them and send them off to Ibiki. Some of the times he considered just killing some of them of, but he knew despite the permission of doing so the Hokage wouldn't take kindly to him killing off civilians. But this time would be different as he noticed a chuunin in the front of the group.

"Well what do you know? It looks like we've found ourselves a filthy little fox." Sneered the chuunin as he kicked Naruto in the ribs and sent the boy flying into a trashcan. Naruto like usual tried to curl into a ball, hoping the small defensive position would lessen the pain, but the others in the group reached out and grabbed his limbs, forcing him suffer the punches and blows straight on. "What's the matter you little monster? Are you scared? Well you should be!" Again the chuunin kicked Naruto, but this time the sounds of ribs breaking could be heard. Naruto screamed as the pain coursed all over his body. Itachi wanted to dive in and save the boy, but he also wanted to remain separate from Naruto's life and not let the boy see him. His pause would almost prove fatal as he almost missed the glint of a kunai. The chuunin had pulled one from the pouch around his leg and pointed it at Naruto's throat. "You know what? I think it's time we finally killed this brat. With this I'll even be praised by the village, called a hero even!" The villagers cheered the chuunin on as he slowly pulled the kunai back and raised it above his head, aiming for Naruto's heart.

Naruto whimpered as he saw his life flash through his mind. The kunai began to move, and in the next instant a loud thump could be heard as the chuunin's arm dropped to the ground and blood seeped out his mouth and chest, most likely the latter due to the blood soaked sword directly stabbed into his heart.

"I believe that this has gone on long enough." said Itachi, his Sharingan spinning as he pulled out his sword and dealt with the others in the group. Blood filled the alley as Itachi moved, Naruto moving into a corner and covering himself with his arms to escape the screams as Itachi killed the rest of the villagers one by one. Minutes passed before the screams died down, and Itachi leaned against the alley walls to wipe the blood from his sword, picking the occasional chunks of guts off his armor and pants.

He heard a small whimper near him, and he approached the blonde, stretching out his hand. "Calm down Naruto, they're dead now. They won't be harming you ever again." Naruto slowly peeked over his shoulder at Itachi, slowly reaching out and taking hold of his hand. Itachi, smiling slightly under his mask, pulled Naruto up and onto his back before jumping to the roofs and heading toward the hospital, Naruto already unconscious with a small smile on his face.

XXXXX

A few days passed after the mysterious murder of several villagers and one chuunin, with no suspect still to be found. The Hokage of course knew of the incident, having received the report from Itachi after he had dropped Naruto off at the hospital to be healed. But due to the circumstances of who was involved, and why the incident had even occurred, Sarutobi kept this information to himself and kept the facade up of having no information concerning it.

Naruto had finally left the hospital and was outside his apartment, ready to sleep again despite the rest he had gotten at the hospital. Turning the key in the lock, he slowly opened the door and entered the empty and dark apartment. He closed the door and slipped his shoes off at the door before turning on the lights. With the room illuminated, Itachi could now be seen resting on the couch, his sword resting on the nearby table and his mask lying next to it. "Hello there Naruto-kun, I hope you don't mind me making myself at home."

Itachi couldn't help but smirk as Naruto fell backwards with a shocked expression on his face. "W…What are you doing in my home?" he said, glancing around in hopes that he could escape. "Now just calm down Naruto, I'm a friend." Itachi stood up from the couch and walked over to Naruto, crouching down to be eye level with the blonde. "Don't you remember? I'm the one who helped you a few days ago. The alley, remember?" To add to his statement, he tilted his head in the direction of his mask, which Naruto recognized once he looked at it.

Naruto turned back to Itachi, looking him over to a few times to see what he really looked like. Finally he nodded and said, "I remember you. Thank you again…but why did you kill them? Couldn't you have just…I don't know, beat them up a little?"

Itachi frowned slightly. "I could have, but they were about to kill you and as such I exacted the punishment for such a crime. Besides...It's my job to protect you."

Naruto stared at Itachi with a blank expression. "Huh?"

Itachi helped Naruto stand before walking to the table and sitting down. Naruto followed and also sat down, looking at the sword and mask from time to time. "I suppose a little explaining is in order. First off, my name is Itachi Uchiha, although I suspect you might already know me due to my fame." Itachi paused as he waited to see if Naruto did indeed know about him. He received a quick nod only seconds later. "You see Naruto...around 3 weeks ago I was called to the Hokage's office for a mission, and S-rank one at that. My job was to guard a certain citizen, you."

Naruto eyes widened and his mouth dropped open slightly. "The old man hired a bodyguard, for me!? What for?"

"For the very thing I stepped in to stop in that alley Naruto. The Hokage knew of the attacks, but for a long time couldn't help you. The reason for this was because nearly every person he tried to find to guard you…well they hated you. Because of this for many years you have suffered, and for that I feel I must apologize."

Naruto shifted in his chair uncomfortably. "But…why?" Itachi blinked as he himself was confused by what Naruto meant exactly. Naruto, having seen this, continued his question. "I mean…why do they hate me? Why do I even need a bodyguard in the first place? Why…" Naruto clenched his fists in his lap and lowered his head, his eyes shadowed by his hair. "Why do they want to kill me? Why do they call me a monster and a demon all the time? I haven't done anything bad…have I?"

Itachi sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that Naruto…There's a law that forbids me. And please, don't ask why there is a law, for I cannot tell you why."

Naruto and Itachi didn't say anything after that, Itachi hoping that Naruto would be able to regain his composure. "Say Itachi-san…" Itachi glanced at the boy, surprised Naruto had already recovered so soon. "Do you think…do you think they will ever stop hating me?"

"Itachi-san?"

"…I don't know Naruto. Perhaps…Perhaps if you prove to them that you are more than what they believe of you, then they will stop seeing what they fear and begin to see what they should respect." Naruto didn't raise his head and continued looking at his hands in his lap, his eyes shining slightly as he thought about Itachi's words. The silence however was broken by a loud growling coming from Naruto's stomach. Naruto blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his head, a large grin on his face. "Um…I guess I'm a little hungry…"

_-Well at least that got rid of the bad mood. –_ Itachi thought. He smiled at the blonde before standing up and placing his sword on his back again, his mask hidden under his ANBU chest armor. "How would you like a little ramen Naruto?" Naruto's grin seemed to grow even more, and Itachi suddenly felt a sense of dread creep over his wallet.

XXXXX

Itachi and Naruto after that day slowly began to grow closer, spending time at the ramen shop and occasionally heading into the forest to train Naruto. Itachi knew of the growing rivalry between Naruto and his little brother Sasuke, and Itachi couldn't help but mess with his brother by helping his rival train. It was on such an occasion that we now find them, Itachi sitting against a tree as Naruto practiced his kunai throwing skills on a rather funny dummy made to look like Itachi. Naruto was slightly sweaty from the long training and the strain of the weights that Itachi had given him earlier, each weighing about 20 pounds on each limb, and after a few more throws he finally collapsed on the ground and tried to regain his breath. "Not bad Naruto, you've finally managed to hit the center of the target most of the time. Keep this up and you…" Itachi halted as he felt another chakra signal approach. In a few moments the owner appeared, revealing himself to be none other than Shisui Uchiha, Itachi's best friend. "Itachi, your father requests your presence at once. He says it's important."

Itachi nodded and looked at Naruto. "Well Naruto-kun, it seems we're done for today. Go home and get yourself cleaned up. Just be sure to keep the weights on all the time so that you can get used to them." Naruto nodded and Itachi jumped into the trees to head to the Uchiha district.

Back at the clearing, Shisui looked over at Naruto and sneered before heading off to follow Itachi as well. Naruto just shrugged off the look and walked back to his apartment.

XXXXX

Itachi slowly walked into the clan head's office and bowed before sitting across from his father. Fugaku Uchiha sipped at his tea and allowed the silence to continue for a moment, before setting the cup down and looking across at his son. "Itachi, I have become tired of this sudden halt in missions. I don't know what the Hokage is doing all of a sudden, but I'm tired of him halting your career like this."

Itachi kept his face neutral but inside he was afraid of what he was sure was to follow. "As such I have taken the matter into my hands as the clans head and I will from now on be assigning you missions so that you will not become soft like the other fools in this village might."

"But father…it is the Hokage's duty to assign missions. You cannot simply…"

Itachi stopped as his father smashed the tea cup on the ground, a resounding crack echoing slightly as it shattered. "I can and I have! I have enacted an old law of the Uchiha, and as such I am now allowed to assign missions to all clan members, as long as they do not involve you leaving the village that is." His father had a smug look of victory on his face and Itachi struggled to keep his face neutral as he raged inside at his father's foolish acts to undermine the Hokage. Fugaku reached behind him and placed a scroll in front of Itachi before continuing. "Your mission is to help the investigation of a murder that took place a week ago. It is not often that you will find a chuunin murdered along with a group of villagers. Therefore I am sending you to resolve this matter. After all…" Fugaku smirked. "You are the best, I have seen to that."

Itachi took the scroll and bowed before standing and exiting the room. Fugaku picked up another cup from besides him, pouring tea into it. As he sipped at his new cup of tea, he motioned for Shisui to enter from a nearby secret passageway. Shisui bowed and sat in front of Fugaku.

"So what have you discovered Shisui?"

"It appears Itachi has been keeping company with the demon recently, though for how long I do not know." Fugaku growled and shattered the second cup in his anger. "That demon now attempts to manipulate my son? That is the final straw, I can no longer accept that brat living another day! Shisui!" Shisui tensed and paid close attention. "You are to kill the demon child by tonight, by any means necessary, understood?" Shisui bowed before vanishing. Fugaku smiled as he summoned a servant for another cup so that he could continue enjoying his tea again. _–Perhaps if all goes well I can have Itachi take the credit of ridding the world of the monster. I'm sure Shisui will not mind. - _Fugaku's laughter filled the room, scaring the servant slightly as she entered.

XXXXX

Itachi walked down the road toward Naruto's house. As he passed a small trash can, he glanced at the scroll in his hand, before throwing it away. _–Father is such a fool, to think he believes I would go against the Hokage, especially now that Naruto is a precious person of mine. But I guess I am lucky though that he happened to give me that particular mission though. Now I can use that time to continue like usual and guard Naruto, and when a mission report is needed, I'll simply ask the Hokage for assistance in making a believable lie. –_

Naruto's apartment came into view, and Itachi casually began walking up the long staircase to the top floor. However, about halfway up, he heard a loud thump from several floors up. Nervous as to what it could be, he rushed up the remaining stairs and stopped in front of Naruto's door. Placing one ear against the door, he pushed a small amount of chakra into it so that he could hear better inside of the apartment. Sounds of what seemed to be movement and scraping could be heard from inside, the occasional grunt heard from exertion. However, the voice was much too deep to be Naruto's.

His fears rising even more, Itachi quickly opened the door and slipped inside, using the shadows around the doorway to stay hidden. On the couch lay Naruto, his body tied up with rope. A tall figure, someone Itachi guessed to be a shinobi around his age, was standing in front of the couch, a sword in his hand as he slowly sharpened it.

–_Shit! Someone it trying to assassinate Naruto! I'll have to be swift, or else my interference will place Naruto in even more danger. -_ Pulling out a kunai, Itachi slipped a simple cloaking genjutsu over himself so as to avoid any instant detection from the assassin. Unfortunately, Naruto had seen him seconds before slipping the genjutsu over himself, and the boy began to struggle to catch Itachi's attention. The assassin, having realized why the boy was suddenly struggling again, turned around and swiped vertically behind him. Itachi quickly blocked the wide strike with his kunai. He tackled the man and pointed it the kunai at the assassin's throat. However the identity of the man made him pause, stunned at the sight of his supposed best friend. "Shisui!? What are you doing?"

Shisui stared back at Itachi, his Sharingan activating and spinning. "Release me Itachi! Your father has ordered the death of the demon, and I will complete this mission. Or are you a traitor to your own clan?" Itachi froze as he heard those words, and in that moment of shock Shisui kicked Itachi off and rolled to the side, now standing before Naruto with his sword in the air.

"Wait Shisui!"

"Die demon!"

Time slowed for Itachi as his Sharingan activated, watching in despair as Shisui slowly lowered his blade to Naruto's face. Naruto himself was wide eyed and crying silent tears, a desperate look in his eyes as he looked to Itachi for help. But Itachi was in the wrong position to save Naruto, and all he could do was stare at the two. _–I…I can't let this happen! I have…to save him…Naruto… -_

"NARUTO!"

XXXXX

The Sandaime relaxed in his chair as he looked over the village, a cup of tea resting on his desk behind him. The paperwork had been gruesome so far, but it all was worth it for these rare moments where he could relax and look over the village he loved. He reached behind him to grab his cup. But his hand stopped as an incredibly loud cracking sound came from behind him.

Swiveling his chair around, Sarutobi looked down at his cup, and noticed that a crack had appeared on the surface, large enough to let some of the tea spill out in the process. Sarutobi wasn't very superstitious like some shinobi were, but whenever an omen appeared he would always consider what it could mean. He recalled the various ones that had begun popping up around the village just before the Kyuubi had appeared at their doorstep. And even further back, he recalled seeing a rainbow around the sun, just days before the reports came in about Orochimaru's horrid experiments.

Sighing, Sarutobi wiped the tea off from his desk and stood up. He walked to the window and slowly opened it, letting the afternoon wind blow some of the loose papers on his desk. He calmly looked over the village again and pondered on the omen. "I'm getting too old for this…" he muttered.

XXXXX

Itachi was confused.

As the sword was only a few inches from Naruto, a burning sensation came to his eyes, and the sudden flare of his chakra made Shisui look directly at him. When their eyes locked, the world suddenly froze. The colors faded until everything was black with white outlines. Outside the window, the sky turned blood red and the clouds turned grey like storm clouds. The afternoon sun was a black speck giving off a creepy grey glow. Shisui himself was also frozen, his sword hovering in the air above where Naruto should have been. But Itachi noticed that the blonde had seemingly vanished, and not a trace of him could be found. Rising to his feet, Itachi walked over to Shisui, waving his hand in front of the other Uchiha's face. He was surprised to see Shisui's eyes following his hand, but nothing else moved.

"What the hell is this?" After making sure nothing would happen to make Shisui moved, Itachi walked to the bathroom and gazed into the mirror, the now mild pain in his eyes being the only thing he could go on at the moment. Although his image had faded to black with white outlines like the rest of this world, he could easily make out the white Sharingan inside his eyes. But what was really strange was that instead of the three tomoe of a mature Sharingan, in their place was a single tri-pointed pinwheel.

"What is this Sharingan? Is this…world…its power?" muttered Itachi.

Walking back into the other room, he saw that Shisui was sweating madly, but he still had not moved an inch. Not caring to waste any more time, Itachi unsheathed his sword and placed it along his no longer best friends neck, and sliced his head clean off. The black blood splattered across his face and the walls, but as Itachi blinked, everything seemed to reset, and Shisui once again was alive and whole. Itachi walked in front of Shisui and observed the mans face, finding that he was terrified beyond anything he had seen before.

Itachi looked down at his sword, expecting to see blood, but he was gripping only air as the sword was back in its sheath. He pulled out a kunai and stabbed Shisui in the eyes, making sure there were only two holes that cried bloody tears in memory of his eyes. He then pulled the kunai back out and stabbed Shisui in the heart, killing him for a second time. Itachi blinked again, and all was reset just like before. A huge, sadistic smirk almost split his face like one of Naruto's infamous grins. "…I see, so I control this world. All is controlled by me, and all can die and live by my command. How unfortunate for you…Shisui-teme."

The world shifted, and Shisui found himself tied to the wall of the apartment, his vest removed and his chest exposed. Itachi stood before him, his ANBU armor gone with only a white robe covering his body. The way it slowly blew in a non-existent wind, it actually gave the image of a Sharingan wielding Shinigami, which didn't help Shisui's bladder control.

"Let me see…for 72 hours you shall suffer. You will die, over and over again, and then maybe I will let you rest in peace." Itachi reached into his robe, and pulled out his sword. He stabbed Shisui right in the heart, before twisting the sword inside of him and drawing the symbol of the Uchiha clan on his chest with blood and guts. Shisui coughed up a little blood, but his voice was silent as he tried to scream in pain. Itachi made another sword appear and he cut Shisui's tongue off with it. As Shisui felt death's grip come over him, Itachi thrust the second sword right into his skull.

Itachi blinked, and all was reset, Shisui completely healed physically, although definitely not mentally. Again a sadistic smirk crossed Itachi's face. "71 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds remaining."

This time Shisui's scream did echo within the strange world…of Tsukuyomi.

XXXXX

Second later in the real world, Shisui's body crumpled to the floor and the sword harmlessly landed beside Naruto. Foam was coming from his mouth, and he twitched slightly from time to time. He suddenly tensed, clutching his chest in pain, and then collapsed completely, dead.

Itachi slumped to the floor as he regained his breath. "That genjutsu… is incredibly powerful, but still so tiring. I'm lucky I had still so much chakra, even after all that earlier training." He shook off the exhaustion and stood, walking over to the stunned Naruto and untying him. Naruto, as soon as he was free, latched onto Itachi and cried again, the tears soaking Itachi's shirt under his armor. Itachi wrapped one arm around the blonde and slowly tried to calm the boy, speaking soothing words into his ear.

Naruto did eventually quiet down, but as Itachi pulled the boy away he found that the reason had been that he had fallen asleep in Itachi's arms. With a sad smile Itachi carried the boy over to the bed and covered him up. "Rest Naruto, while I take care of a few things…" Naruto curled up under the covers, small smile on his face, and Itachi returned to Shisui's body. Placing it on his shoulder, he moved with all the skills of the ANBU captain he was and headed toward the nearby river.

XXXXX

A few weeks had passed since Shisui's assassination attempt on Naruto, and everything had somewhat returned to normal. Naruto was a little more tense whenever Itachi wasn't around, but luckily the Sandaime was able to come visit him at times. As for Shisui's body, Itachi had carefully placed it under the waters of the river, making it seem as if he had drowned. It had been found only a few days ago, and luckily the military police were only able to confirm it as a drowning, and nothing more.

Itachi was at the moment deep within the archives of the Uchiha clan, searching for any possible clues as to whatever the mysterious Sharingan he had developed was. It took several hours, going deep into the locked section that was hidden behind the rest of the archive, but he had found a scroll written by Uchiha Madara, the founder of the Uchiha clan. Inside of it, Madara described the Mangekyo and its abilities. From the Tsukuyomi, which Itachi recognized as being the powerful genjutsu he had tortured and killed Shisui with, to the Amaterasu, dark flames that burned for seven days and seven nights and were supposedly hotter than the flames of the sun. There were more jutsu, just as powerful or destructive as the first two, but what really surprised Itachi was the supposed way of obtaining the Mangekyo Sharingan.

"The Mangekyo Sharingan is only obtainable by the trauma of death and the severing of a powerful bond. I myself obtained this by killing my best friend, the Shodaime Hokage. However as I write this, my life slips away. Our battle was fierce, and while the Uchiha clan might consider me the victor for having walked out of the valley our battle created, my former best friend was the true victor for having denied me of the very thing I desired, power." muttered Itachi. He looked further into the scroll, hoping to learn of what Madara had meant by his final words, but the rest was only a series of notes on the possible additional powers beyond those already revealed that the Mangekyo might wield. _–The death of your best friend…but Shisui died after I obtained these eyes. Then how did I obtain them? –_ Itachi carefully rolled up then ancient scroll and placed it back on its shelf. As he left the archives, he suddenly realized what had caused it.

_-Madara said the Mangekyo was born of death and severed bond. But…it seems the possible death of someone dear to you can also push you to obtain the eyes as well. I suppose I should thank Naruto in a sense, despite the possible side-effect of becoming blind. But still…to think father would go that far and try to kill Naruto…I must do something…even if it means…-_

Itachi had reached the outer gardens of his family's mansion by that time and he slowly walked to the nearby pond. He peered over the edge, staring into his reflection, switching his Sharingan on and changing it between the regular version and the Mangekyo. "Could I really do such a thing? They all despise Naruto, and they would even kill him because of such an unfound and foolish hatred. But still…they are my clan, my family…" Itachi picked up a rock resting on the edge of the pond and tossed in into the pond, the rock skipping a few times before settling on the bottom and making ripples flow across the top of the water. His reflection flickered, and in between the ripples he now saw Sasuke staring back at him, a small smile on his face. "Sasuke…he has yet to become corrupted by father and the clan's beliefs. If I do go through with it, he should be spared. He would probably hate me though, maybe even seek revenge, but…I could only hope he would not let his hatred cloud his mind…"

Over the following days, Itachi pondered on his plan, only pushing them away as he visited with Naruto. Naruto himself was already getting over the attempted murder and was once again the hyperactive child he was. But again something occurred that would interrupt their happiness. Fugaku, his father, and several other high ranking members of the Uchiha clan had begun to suspect foul play in Shisui's death. As being the last person to have officially seen him alive, suspicion was instantly placed on Itachi. Itachi, fearing that his secret friendship with Naruto would be revealed in the investigation, and that the wrong conclusions might be drawn up because of it, he decided to space himself from Naruto for a time. The Sandaime understood this, and luckily he was able to assign another ANBU to watch over Naruto while he couldn't.

Soon, as the investigation continued and more suspicion mounted on Itachi, the pride of the Uchiha clan was now slowly becoming the failure. He could hear whispers sometimes coming from his fellow clan members, calling him a 'murderer' or even 'demon sympathizer'. But he didn't truly care about that, as long as Naruto was safe from his clan's idiotic beliefs and hatred.

Sadly though, this too didn't last for long. A brief report from the ANBU guarding Naruto reported several Uchiha clan members cornering the boy, all of them chuunin and above shinobi. They had instantly brandished their weapons, and it was only thanks to the quick interference of the ANBU that saved Naruto that day. Itachi, enraged at his clan's actions for the last time, prepared to end it once and for all, no matter what.

After saying goodbye to Sasuke and dropping him off at the Academy, he slowly walked back to the Uchiha compound, and soon he found himself in front of his father and the clan council. He bowed, snarling slightly in disgust while nobody could notice it. "Father, council members, I have requested an audience with you today to discuss the dishonorable actions that this clan has been showing to one Naruto Uzumaki, the hero of Konoha." The room instantly filled with shouting and many curse words. One council member called for silence before standing, although his eyes held the same hatred in his eyes like the others. "I fail to see such actions like those you speak of Itachi. What proof do you have?"

"For starters, the way you treat the child and your beliefs on him. He is not a demon as you so claim to be, he is a hero! He has kept the Kyuubi sealed within him for all these years, protecting Konoha and the world from the beast's wrath. And yet you treat him like scum?! Is this truly how our supposedly honorable clan honors the final wish of the Yondaime Hokage? Are we so arrogant as to think we are above other human beings?" Itachi's face was no longer neutral as he began to yell at the council and his father, his Sharingan spinning in his rage and his face turning red. "Constantly I see our clan attack and harm Naruto, and constantly I have put up with the mutterings of our clan as they call him a demon and trash under their breath! And recently…I discovered Uchiha Shisui attempted to murder the boy, by order of you father!"

Silence filled the chamber as the council members cold expressionless faces stared down at Itachi from their seats. Fugaku however was enraged. "So you were the one to stop my plans of killing the boy Itachi? How dare you go against my will! I will no longer accept such actions! I had hoped to save you from that demon, but I see it is too late." Fugaku pulled a kunai from between the sleeves on his robe. "Die!" Fugaku charged his son, who although shocked at his fathers actions still activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and turned his gaze on all present. _–If this is what father has decided, then there is no turning back, for any of them… -_

The room turned black and white, and from a small nearby window the sun outside could be seen turning into a black sphere of ghostly light. The council members and Fugaku found themselves tied to crosses, all in a circle and facing the center. Itachi stood in the center, his head lowered as the bangs of hair shrouded his face.

"The leader of this clan, my own father, has now decided your fates. And so I shall now carry out the punishment. It is a pity really, I had hoped my fellow Uchiha's would not be this foolish. But I see it was only a dream." Itachi raised his head, the Mangekyo spinning in his eyes. Raising one finger to the sky, a huge flock of ravens descended from the sky. They swarmed around Itachi before he himself vanished and the ravens dived at the men on the crosses. The ravens pecked and pulled, ripping and clawing the men. They ate the skin, chewed on the eyes, and cleaned their beaks with the men's hair before drenching their beaks in blood once again. The council and Fugaku screamed, the ravens avoiding their tongues so that they may scream until the last moment. Finally those too were ripped from their mouths, before suddenly they regained all that had been eaten and clawed, only to see the ravens descend on them from the sky again. Itachi's voice echoed across the world from every direction.

"6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds remaining…"

XXXXX

All throughout the Uchiha compound this torture and killing was repeated, the groups ranging from a family to an entire street. All of them were tortured by ravens or burned alive, but all shared death as they fell to the ground. Night had fallen and Itachi now rested atop a pole, his Sharingan still active but the Mangekyo off. He popped another soldier pill into his mouth, the third so far since he'd begun. "….That's everyone. It was taxing, but I suppose my mass genjutsu plan worked in conserving my chakra reserves so as to keep myself from overdosing on pills. But…now what do I do…hmm?"

A scream echoed in the bloody streets of the now former Uchiha district. It was Sasuke's voice, easily recognizable to Itachi. He quickly leaped down from his spot and rushed to the entrance of the district, and indeed that's where he found him. Sasuke lay crouched on the ground, crying and screaming as he looked at the bodies of his fellow Uchiha's. He had blood on his hands, probably from trying to awaken some of them as if they were merely sleeping. Itachi landed behind him and placed his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Sasuke…"

Sasuke slowly raised his head and looked at Itachi. "What…What's going on? Why is everyone dead Itachi!?"

"I-Itachi?"

"I…killed them all…" Sasuke instantly pulled himself free of Itachi and fell back on the ground a few feet away. His eyes were full of fear, sorrow, and pain, so much pain. Itachi mentally flinched at the way Sasuke's eyes looked at him. "WHY?! Why would you do such a thing brother? Why…even mother and father too…"The last part was a whisper, but Itachi still could hear it.

Itachi sighed, wishing he didn't have to say what he was about to. "Because Sasuke…they deserved it." Itachi wanted to continue, to explain himself somehow, but he new inside that at the moment, there was no way he could. "Sasuke…" Sasuke had covered his face and was crying into his chest, but at his name he slowly raised his head and looked at his brother. "…I can never ask you to forgive me. But still I wish to ask you to do one thing for me." Sasuke simply stared at Itachi and spoke not a word. Itachi continued on nevertheless. "Do not live for revenge. Do not let your life be consumed by it, instead live like a true Uchiha should and protect this village. Become a strong shinobi and defend you home, the home of our former clan. In time, revive the clan, and teach your children to protect this village as well." Itachi paused to let his words sink in. Sasuke still looked at Itachi, but now the fear was gone and surprisingly curiosity could be seen in his eyes.

Itachi again resumed. "If we should ever meet again after this night, then if you wish you may challenge me. I will even allow you to kill me should that be your desire. But as I have said, please do not let revenge fill your heart…" Itachi vanished and reappeared behind Sasuke. He crouched to whisper in the startled child's ears. "…Goodbye Sasuke, I'm sorry." With a quick chop to the neck, Sasuke collapsed and Itachi picked him up. Letting his Sharingan vanish he headed off to the Hokage Tower, Sasuke resting in his arms.

XXXXX

"Dark times are in the future…" muttered Sarutobi. He de-activated his crystal balls jutsu and carefully placed it back inside its drawer, just as Itachi appeared in a cloud of smoke inside the office, Sasuke still asleep in his arms.

"So Itachi, what brings the murderer of his entire clan, save his little brother, to my office?" asked Sarutobi, turning stare out at the moon.

"I have merely come here to drop Sasuke off, and hopefully explain my actions this night…if that is even possible." Sarutobi waved the explanation off and turned to look at Itachi, a solemn expression on his face. "I have been watching your actions for a few days Itachi, ever since you reported killing Shisui to only a moment ago. I know why you did what you did, and…despite killing your clan I must say…that it was sadly needed. Many knew of the Uchiha's hatred for Naruto. They will become cautious in their actions to Naruto, no doubt fearing that you might kill them as well." Sarutobi sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Although the exact opposite might happen too, and Naruto might be in more danger then he ever had in his entire life."

Itachi nodded and placed Sasuke on the couch. "I know that my actions will have me marked as a traitor to the village, maybe even an S-rank criminal too due to the sheer number involved in my crime, but I must ask that you please grant me a few favors before I leave, if you would be so kind as to grant them Hokage-sama."

The Sandaime sat in his chair and lit his pipe, blowing a little smoke through his nose. "If they do not lesson you actions, then I believe so."

"My first request is that you do not let the ANBU pursue me immediately. If anything, let me at least have the night to make my escape before you let them loose. If you need an excuse then simply say that I am too powerful to risk sending ANBU after me without proper planning." Sarutobi thought over the request for a moment before nodding. "Very well Itachi-san, you shall have your head start. But do not expect to never be pursued. At minimum your face shall be in every bingo book from here to Iwa by weeks end. What is the rest of your requests?"

"There is only two more Hokage-sama. I request……that you allow me to take Naruto Uzumaki along with me as I leave."

Sarutobi was surprised. "And why would I allow such an action?"

"To begin with it would not lessen my crime, in fact it would increase it if anything. Many would not care that Naruto should disappear, but those who fear him would also fear him falling into the wrong hands, which I assure you would not happen so long as I'm around. And also…Would he be any better if he continued growing up inside of Konoha? You have already noted that his life may be in even more danger now that my crime had been committed. With me he would have a guardian, and an excellent sensei. I am sure with my teachings he would become an outstanding shinobi, even though he would no longer be tied to Konoha." explained Itachi.

"Before I give you my answer to this request, I wish to know what the final request is."

"It in fact ties together with the second request. If, no when, Sasuke asks about me and my reasons, please tell him everything, including Naruto." Itachi raised his hand before the Sandaime could say anything. "Please, I understand the law, but I want my brother to understand everything I have done, without any doubts haunting him. It may very well be what guides him in his life from now on, a path of glory, or a path of revenge and hatred."

Sarutobi puffed away with his pipe as he considered the two requests. Subconsciously, he also rubbed the bridge of his nose, a headache already forming due to all that was happening. "…As to the second of your requests Itachi, I shall allow you to take Naruto along with you in your travels. I hope that with this he lives a better life and becomes a strong shinobi like you believe he would. And as to the third and final request…"

"…I shall…allow that as well…Though I believe he is still too young to understand everything." Sarutobi smiled and Itachi bowed before leaving. As he slipped on the strongest genjutsu he knew to hide himself, he moved quickly over the rooftops toward his final destination before leaving Konoha.

XXXXX

The following morning the entire Uchiha Massacre was the word on everyone's lips. Sasuke, who was named 'The Last Uchiha', was praised for having survived such a brutal event, although Sasuke merely stayed silent through it all, his thoughts still on what his brother said before knocking him out. Like Sarutobi had said, a new issue of the bingo books had been published, with Itachi right on the first page of the S-class missing-nin.

In addition, soon after people began to notice a certain blonde was missing. For many they simply didn't care, others soon celebrated as the days passed and he continued to not appear. But also like Itachi suspected, others began to fear the possibilities that perhaps Naruto had left to plan revenge, or worse. Sarutobi however kept order and simply left Naruto marked as being missing, perhaps even dead. He felt it would be unwise to reveal the truth of Naruto's status to all but Sasuke and Kakashi Hatake, the ANBU who had guarded Naruto during Itachi's absence.

All of this however was far behind Itachi and Naruto, as they cold now be seen relaxing in a clearing several miles from Konoha, near the borders of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain. Itachi watched the fish he had just caught slowly cook. Naruto simply played with a kunai, throwing it at the ground and making it stick before pulling it out and repeating it again. When Itachi had grabbed Naruto and left, Naruto at first was confused. But as they left Konoha farther and farther behind them, Itachi began to explain what he had done and why. Now for several days, Naruto had been unnaturally quiet, and while this troubled Itachi he kept quiet himself, letting Naruto think things through so that he could ask Itachi questions.

"Itachi-san…"

Itachi looked up from the fish and stared at Naruto. "What is it Naruto-kun?"

"…Why?"

"Why did they hate me? Why did they try to kill me? Why, why, why, why!?" Naruto screamed, tears forming along the edges of his eyes. Itachi looked at Naruto and was grateful the high collar of his travel cloak hid the frown he wore.

"…I suppose you do deserve to know. And now that I am no longer a Konoha shinobi, it will not matter if I tell you or not…" Moving a little to one side of the log he sat on, Itachi motioned for Naruto to come sit beside him. Naruto stood up and moved to sit beside Itachi, before looking up at him again. Itachi stared back at Naruto for a few minutes, letting the crackling of the fire be the only noise in the campground. Finally with a sigh, he looked over to the fire and began his explanation.

"Tell me Naruto…do you know…of the Kyuubi no Kitsune?"

XXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:** This is a revised edition of Chapter 1. I hope you enjoyed it! (Any previous Author Notes I might have made in these revised chapters no longer exist)


	2. Chapter 2

Normal Speech"

_-Thoughts-_

**"Demon Speech"**

**"Jutsu!"**

XXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 2: The Fox Boy Returns

Two lone figures slowly walked down the road, their cloaks slowly moving in the wind. The cloaks were black with high collars and red clouds splattered across them. Straw hats hid their faces, and a small bell on a red tassel hung from them along the side. In the distance, a great wall and gate slowly began to appear. The two guards at the gate tensed as they saw the strangers approach. As they neared the gates, one of the guards walked forward and raised his hand. "Halt, identify yourselves and state your business in Konoha."

The two strangers stopped in front of the guard and they looked at each other. The shorter one, whom the guard suspected to be a young boy around the age of 12, nodded at the taller stranger, who the same guard guessed to be an older boy around 17. The taller cloaked stranger nodded slightly, and a gentle breeze blew through the road. The guard grew irritated at the lack of response from the two and stepped closer, reaching for his kunai pouch. "I said…"

The man didn't finish, as he suddenly felt tired. In the wind, a voice seemed to whisper to him, and he began to feel his eyelids droop. The other guard began to tire as well, and soon the two were resting on the ground next to each other, both having been placed that way by the two strangers. The two continued on into the village and eventually they stood atop the Hokage Monument, both resting on the head of the past Yondaime.

"So this is where you grew up huh?" asked the taller boy, his voice low but smooth.

"Yeah, brings back memories ya know? I wonder how everyone is doing now?" replied the smaller one, his voice loud and cheerful.

"Do you think that the Hokage will actually agree to it? I mean it's not like we're his enemy or anything but considering, that Itachi is…" he trailed off as the shorter one reached up to pull off his hat. He wore a ring on his right pointer finger, the kanji for 'Seiryu' on it.

"Don't worry about it! I'm sure he'll listen. After all…"

He placed his hat beside him and ran his hand through his spiky blond hair. His blue eyes practically shined as he looked over the village, and the whisker marks on his cheeks sat alongside a huge grin that he wore. "It's not every day a ghost from the past comes to visit." said Naruto.

The taller boy laughed and also reached for his hat. He wore a ring as well, but his was on his left pinky and had the kanji for 'Kuchin' on it. As he held onto his hat in his left hand, he brushed the single bang of blond hair that fell in front of his face out of his blue eyes, subconsciously rubbing his right ear along the pointed end at the top as he passed it. He also glanced at the village, and his eyes glowed a mysterious green for a second before he looked down at his partner. "I suppose you're right Naruto. He did always like you, and seeing you again just might be the trick to getting him to go along."

Naruto stood up and brushed off his cloak before placing his hat back on again. "Well then I guess we might as well get going. Come on Uindo." Uindo nodded and replaced his hat before following.

XXXXX

The Sandaime was having a pretty hectic week. The chuunin exams were approaching, and like he expected the paperwork he faced was growing more and more as the exams came closer. Stamping furiously and letting out the occasional curse for whoever invented paperwork, he almost was relieved as he heard a knock and a ANBU guard walked in. "Sir there are two strangers outside requesting an audience with you. Should I send them away?"

"No need, please send them in." Sarutobi sighed and muttered under his breath, "I could use the break anyway…"

The ANBU bowed and exited, closing the door behind him. Moments later the door opened again, and two people dressed in black cloaks with red clouds walked in. Sarutobi looked the two over, taking note of the rings on their fingers, before grabbing his pipe and lighting it. "So…to what pleasure do I owe a visit from two members of the Akatsuki?" The two seemed unfazed at the Hokage's knowledge of their organization's name. Instead they both calmly walked to the chairs on their end of the desk and sat down, not removing their hats to keep their identities secret for the moment.

"We have come for many reasons Hokage-sama. First off though...I would like to know how you know of us?" asked the taller of the two.

"Well finding information on your little group isn't easy, rest assured. But what I do know, from the last intelligence report nearly three years ago, was that you were all wiped out. Strange, especially considering your organization was full of S-rank missing-nin. I see now though that the report must have been mistaken, or are you perhaps another group taking up the name?"

"….I suppose it is a little of both Hokage-sama." The taller one paused to look over at his companion, who still had yet to say anything. The shorter one nodded, and the taller continued again. "The original leader of Akatsuki was killed 3 years ago, along with several of his followers. As of now, only three of the original members remain, and one is our leader."

Sarutobi nodded thoughtfully at the story as he processed the information. "So that's how it is. And might I ask what you wish with Konoha?"

This time the shorter Akatsuki member spoke. "While the original organization wished to capture the Biju and Jinchuriki for global domination, we have a different plan, although it follows similar routes. We plan to capture the rogue Biju, but only with the purpose of imprisoning them to protect humanity from their attacks."

Sarutobi took a small puff of his pipe before looking at the two again, his eyes showing a hint of anger. "And what of the jinchuriki? What do you plan with them?"

"Well we plan to give them a real home, one where hatred for what they are forced to bear is nonexistent. So far, that plan seems to be a complete success. I mean, it's been pretty good for me this whole time." said the shorter one. He pulled of his hat and placed it on the desk, running a hand again through his spiky hair. Sarutobi instantly recognized the blonde's spiky hair, the deep blue eyes, the three whisker marks, and soon the Hokage found himself bending over and trying to keep himself from choking on his own pipe. After a few more minutes of regaining his breath, he raised his head again and rubbed his eyes, making sure the boy in front of him was not an illusion.

"Na…NARUTO?!"

"Hey old man, glad to see you remember me. Guess your memory hasn't gotten bad while I was gone." joked Naruto as he placed his arms behind his head and relaxed a little in his seat.

"Why…Why are you a member of Akatsuki? I thought…I mean…" Sarutobi let out a sigh before sitting back down and rubbing the bridge of his nose, his pipe forgotten on the floor. "Alright, now I'm confused. It is good to see you again Naruto, make no mistake, but I must say this wasn't quite what I expected when we would meet again."

Naruto laughed and rubbed his nose. "Yeah, a lot can happen really in 4 years. But don't worry, we don't mean any harm to Konoha. Quite the opposite if possible."

Naruto's partner nodded to this and removed his hat as well, showing off his blond hair, blue eyes, and slightly pointed ears. "He is right Hokage-sama. We've come here for a few reasons, and I'm sure you won't mind the ones involving Konoha."

"And what might I ask are these reasons…" he paused to hear the boy's name.

"Oh sorry, my name is Uindo, pleasure to meet you. Anyway, the first reason was to see if we could enter the chuunin exams that are coming up. You see, despite what you may think, Akatsuki is not an evil organization, not anymore at least. We have even started a hidden village, and as such we wish to extend a peace treaty while we're here and partake in the exams to establish our village's credibility as a hidden village."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "I have not heard of any new villages coming into existence recently. I take it your village is fairly new? Perhaps the elusive Otogakure that has appeared in Rice Country?"

Naruto frowned behind his high collar. "No, that village is merely a front for one of the reasons we came. Our village is the Village Hidden in the Wind, Kazegakure. We haven't exactly become official yet, which is why we want to partake in the exams, but we planned to introduce ourselves with the chuunin exam."

Sarutobi rubbed his chin in thought as he spoke. "And might I ask why Akatsuki would form a village? Surely such an act would draw attention to themselves."

"Why not? We're no longer up to no good. What we want now is to simply help those who hold the biju and capture the remaining ones that roam the lands." said Uindo. He flashed a smile and laid back in his seat as well. "Anyway, as such we wish to form a strong alliance from the start, and along with our allies we will grow and…well it goes from there I suppose."

"Well while I do have some objections to this, I see no problems personally if you are involved in all of this Naruto. I just hope you will prove me right. Now what about the other reasons for your journey here?"

Naruto spoke up at this. "The second reason is that we have come to locate a certain Suna genin. Akatsuki has been avoiding contact with him due to his…mental instability, but with him in an allied village of his own we hope that he will remain…somewhat calm, and we can discuss business with him."

Sarutobi sighed and asked, "What is his name?"

"Sabaku no Gaara" replied Uindo.

"The son of the Kazekage? Why would you wish to speak with him?"

"…If you don't know then it is a secret old man. We only wished to tell you we would like to talk to him in case you wished to assist us in that." said Naruto, his tone low and serious.

"I don't know if I can really do anything about that for you so for now that will have to wait. Now as for the last reason…"

"It involves that new village, Otogakure. It recently appeared from nowhere and is seemingly small, but our intelligence says several missing nin and rogue shinobi have slowly been moving there. And then there's the matter of the supposed Kage of the village…"

The two were silent for a moment as they both tried to conceal their expressions. Uindo had a scowl on his face, while Naruto grinded his teeth in anger and his eyes flashed red for a moment. Sarutobi, having sensed the bitter atmosphere coming from the two, finally asked, "Who is it?"

"Orochimaru" they both said in unison, hatred in their voices, and malice in their eyes.

"….I see. So my former student is up to something finally after all these years. And you wish to investigate his reasons for forming a village and why he would place his lackeys in the exams?"

Naruto nodded. "Orochimaru, around 3 years ago, tried to join our organization, for what reasons exactly we didn't know at the time. At that point however there was already a lot of tension among the members, and as such nobody wanted a wild card like him coming in and upsetting the balance. Not long after the take over happened, and during the aftermath he tried to steal Itachi's body using his completed immortality jutsu. He failed, but ever since then we've been keeping an eye on him incase he tried anything again. Now he's on the move, and because he is still an enemy of this village we also wish to…deal with him. Think of it somewhat as a peace offering to add to the treaty should you accept."

Sarutobi looked over the two boys, trying to tell if they were serious or not. "You do realize Orochimaru is one of the three Legendary Sannin? He's not one to be taken lightly."

Uindo chuckled and dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "You do not need to worry about that Hokage-sama. Naruto and I were a part of the revolt against the former Akatsuki members. Naruto even helped our leader out in the battle against the former leader and was able to deal a good amount of damage on him. I must say it was quite a battle, I kinda wish you had seen it."

Sarutobi glanced at Naruto, but Naruto was looking up toward the ceiling, as if finding something very interesting about the wood grain. With a sigh Sarutobi rubbed his nose to relieve another growing headache. "So much in so little time…And I don't quite understand it all but….As far as joining the chuunin exams I shall allow it. However…it is common for you to have another teammate along with you and a jonin instructor in tow."

Uindo and Naruto glanced at each, silent signals being sent between the two. Uindo was the one to reply. "Our sensei is…a little too popular, if you will, to come to Konoha. As for a third teammate…what do you think Naruto?"

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought before nodding. "Yeah, I'm sure she'll be happy to come. It would also give her something to do besides train" Naruto looked over at Sarutobi. "Our teammate will arrive by the end of the week, is that okay?"

"Yes, if that's the case then you'll be able to go right to the exam after she arrives. In the meantime…I guess just enjoy your stay in Konoha." Uindo and Naruto stood up and bowed before turning to leave. However, just as they opened the door, Naruto paused. Uindo, having noticed this, looked behind him. "Naruto?"

"I'll be out in just a minute Uindo. I just have a personal question to ask." Uindo nodded his understanding before heading out the door. Naruto turned back to the Hokage.

"So…how is Sasuke doing?"

XXXXX

A few minutes later, Naruto and Uindo were walking down the main street of Konoha. Their hats and cloaks were disguising their identities, so luckily nobody had so far recognized Naruto for being the Kyuubi brat from all those years ago.

They turned down a side street into the slums of Konoha, and after a few flight of stairs, they were standing in front of Naruto's old apartment. Pulling out his old key, something he had somehow managed to keep with him all these years, Naruto opened the door and walked inside.

"So…this is your old home right?" muttered Uindo. He ran a hand over the floor and looked at the heavy amount of dust on his fingers. He glanced up at the rest of the apartment, an amused glint in his eyes. "Not exactly the cleanest home I've seen."

"So? What'd you expect after all these years, a dust free mansion?" asked Naruto sarcastically.

"Umm…I'm not talking about the dust. I was kinda referring to all the empty ramen cups."

Naruto blinked in surprise. He looked over his apartment, and chuckled nervously, a large sweatdrop forming on the back of his head. It was true, the entire apartment was full of discarded ramen cups, and many were pilled on top of the lone table in the center of the room and near worn out bed.

"Heheheh…I guess it could use a little cleaning…."

"A little?" Uindo walked over to one of the ramen cups and picked it up, gagging as he noticed a large clump of mold inside of it. _–Is that mold hissing at me? –_

"Alright, a LOT of cleaning."

Uindo chuckled and threw the cup into a nearby pile, earning another small hiss from the cup's mold. "Right, but first…how's Sasuke? I know you were talking to the Hokage about him."

Naruto sighed and sat down on the couch, thinking back to his conversation with the Sandaime.

Flashback

"So…how is Sasuke doing?"

The Sandaime let out a sigh and grabbed his pipe from off the floor. "He could be better, but I'm happy to say he's living a somewhat normal life." Fixing his pipe and lighting it, Sarutobi paused as he thought over it all.

"After Itachi left with you Naruto, Sasuke was very quiet for a long time. I spent a lot of my free time trying to cheer him up, but he rarely smiled and talked with me."

"But…he improved right?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, but it's hard to tell at times. He may be distant at times, but otherwise he seems to be okay and socializes well with everyone. He actually is quite popular now and graduated as rookie of the year a while back."

"Well that's good. But how does he feel about Itachi…and me?"

Sarutobi stared at Naruto for a while, his face set in a thoughtful expression. "…That's where it gets complicated. He asked a lot about why Itachi did it. He especially started asking when he learned that it was Itachi himself who dropped him off here." A frown suddenly appeared on his face and Naruto felt something bad was coming. "In addition to asking about Itachi he asked…about you Naruto. My guess was that he was one of the few who connected your disappearance with Itachi's leaving."

Naruto froze, and behind the collar of his cloak he clenched his teeth in worry. "…Did you tell him about Kyuubi and me?"

"I stalled for a long time, but yes. I did promise Itachi after all to tell Sasuke about everything. But I waited until around a year ago on your birthday."

Naruto let out a sigh and sat back farther in the seat, rubbing his head to try and get rid of the headache he felt forming. "And?"

"…He somewhat hates you, but he knows you're not Kyuubi. He said so to me after I told him about everything. He still hates Itachi for killing them, but he understands it was to save you from a whole clan that was bent on killing you, even if it was his own. But at the same time he hates you still because you were the reason why Itachi did it. I don't know what he will do once he notices your presence in Konoha, or what he would do if Itachi were to appear, but if we're hopeful he wont try to kill you, maybe just beat you up." Sarutobi let out a small chuckle and Naruto arched an eyebrow at him. Dismissing it with a wave of his hand, Sarutobi said, "Sorry about that. It's just Sasuke has said more than once that he's also excited you hold the Kyuubi. Apparently because of that you'd be the perfect rival for him. He knows he couldn't beat you if you were to use Kyuubi's chakra, but he sees it as a sort of scale for his own power. After all, anybody who can fight against a demon on somewhat equal footing is definitely strong."

Naruto couldn't help but laugh also. "Well I guess that means he still wants me to be my rival. That's good, I was afraid it would've been one sided." Adjusting his hat, he rised from his seat and bowed before he left the office. "See ya later old man, and thanks again for everything!"

Flashback Ends

"So essentially he hates you, but still wants you as a rival. And he's not bent on revenge like Itachi-sensei had wished, although he'll still probably knock Itachi on his ass as soon as he can. That's not so bad." said Uindo, amused at the whole thing.

Naruto twirled his hat in the air a little, imagining as being a windmill shuriken to focus better, before placing it on the table. "Yeah, I guess so. But still I kinda feel guilty. He should hate me more than he does. After all I really was the cause of his family being killed by Itachi-sensei."

Uindo placed his hat down as well and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Don't worry about it Naruto. It's all in the past mostly now so there's no need to fuss about it." He moved up to Naruto's head and ruffled the other blonde's hair a little. "Now come on, let's go get some ramen. I'm sure that'll cheer you up, it's never failed before."

At the mention of ramen, Naruto cheered up instantly and left the apartment, dragging Uindo behind him with a flurry of curse words and yelling for him to slow down.

XXXXX

Sasuke casually stirred the noodles in his miso ramen as he listened in on his two teammates. From the far end of the stand, he could hear the occasional perverted chuckle come from his one-eyed sensei. He eyes flickered for a moment over the title of the book, before turning back to his ramen.

Kiba, sitting next to their sensei and away from Sasuke, let out a growl and bared his large canines. "I've had it with that stupid cat! I don't care if we fail the mission, next time I see that thing I'm gonna let Akamaru bite it! HARD!" From atop Kiba's head, his dog Akamaru let out a bark in agreement, an evil grin on the usually cute puppy dog's face.

Hinata, sitting between her two teammates, possibly to prevent any violence that might break out between them, nervously poked her fingers together. "K-Kiba-kun, you r-really shouldn't do t-that…" she trailed off, whispering a few more words under her breath that even Sasuke couldn't hear.

"No way I'm just gonna let it get away like that Hinata! I've got enough cuts and scratches on my face to be a damn scratching post thanks to it! Just let me at it and it'll regret ever messing with me!"

Sasuke hid a small smirk as he heard the continuous stream of curse words and empty threats over a certain cat. It had been another bothersome day of D-rank missions for Team 7, and for around the 50th time they had been assigned to capturing the Daimyo Wife's cat, Tora. The first time they had been assigned the mission, Sasuke had been so cut up that the second time he'd almost roasted the cat with one of his fire jutsu's. And during the last few Akamaru had suffered the cat's claws as well. Now with the recent attack being directed at Kiba, the whole remainder of it all was filled with curses and loud grumbling about different ways to cook or kill the cat. Sasuke actually was interested in some of the methods Kiba had babbled about, but he decided to keep quiet about his interest. Hinata didn't join in on their anger toward the cat, but it was probably due to the fact that the cat had yet to ever attack her. It was probably due to her being so shy and easily scared that the cat never see's her as a threat.

It was during a rare pause in Kiba's rant that the flaps of the stand parted, revealing two figures wearing black cloaks with red clouds and large straw hats. One of them removed his hat, revealing a boy only a few years older than Sasuke with blue eyes that flashed with green and short blonde hair that had one bang falling over the left side of his face. The other didn't remove his hat, but Sasuke bet that this one was around his age, if his height was any indication. The two sat down on the other side of Sasuke, the one with his hat off sitting between Sasuke and the other one. Sasuke looked over the two one more time, but decided they were of no more interest. He returned to his own bowl of ramen, only briefly nothing that the two cloaked figures had each ordered 10 bowls apiece.

The girl behind the counter, Ayame if Naruto remembered, smiled and set their bowls down in front of him and Uindo. After muttering a quick, "Itadakimasu", the two went at the ramen and quickly polished off two bowls in a minute. Uindo looked up from his ramen and glanced from the corner of his eye at the kid sitting next to him. "Hey Naruto, that's him right?"

"Yeah, that's Sasuke-teme alright. He's even wearing the Uchiha symbol on his back in case you didn't notice." Naruto also stole a quick glance at Sasuke and the others. "The others with him are probably his team and sensei."

Uindo nodded slightly and looked over at the sensei. He was leaning against the wall of the stand, an empty bowl of ramen in front of him. He wore the usual jonin attire, but in addition to it he also wore a face mask and the left side of his face was covered by his head band. His one visible eye was focused on the little orange book in his hands, and a perverted chuckle came from behind the mask from time to time. Uindo also noted that he had silver hair.

"So Hatake Kakashi is Sasuke's sensei huh? That's pretty impressive."

Naruto shrugged. "I'm not surprised. He's the only person in the village with a Sharingan, even if it's not his own. He's the only one outside of the Uchiha clan that could possible teach him how to master his dojutsu." Naruto glanced again at Kakashi, and was surprised to see Kakashi's eye flicker towards his own, before curving into what Naruto assumed was a type of eye smile. _–So he knows who I am? Heh, I'd expect nothing less I suppose… -_

"And look at his two teammates, an Inuzuka and a Hyuuga, both of them probably being the heirs of their respective clans. Not bad, expect one's a bragging loudmouth and the other looks ready to faint any minute, not to mention shy as hell."

Naruto nodded in agreement and the two went back to simply eating their meals. The 10 original bowls quickly disappeared, and 5 more vanished afterwards too. They paid the chef, who Naruto now recalled being named Teuchi, and stood to leave. As Uindo pushed the flaps open, Naruto stepped up to Sasuke and waited for the Uchiha to notice him. It didn't take long, and Sasuke looked up at Naruto with an eyebrow raised. "What?"

Naruto didn't move for a moment, his eyes looking over Sasuke from behind the shade of his hat. Then he smiled and reached into his cloak, pulling out an envelope that he handed to Sasuke. "Hope we meet again Sasuke. It's been way to long ya know?" With that he turned and left with Uindo.

"Huh?" Sasuke looked down at the letter and frowned. He thought of opening right away, but something told him to wait until he was alone. As he put it away in a pocket, Kiba looked over and grunted. "Hey Sasuke, did you know those guys?"

Sasuke shook his head and then furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "No…or at least I don't think so. Maybe…"

Unknown to his team, Kakashi actually paused for a second time in his reading and looked over at Sasuke, a smile hidden by his mask. _–So it was Naruto after all. It's good to see he's okay after all this time. –_ He turned back to his book and turned the page, giggling slightly as he read on. _–I hope you do the right thing when it comes time to Sasuke. –_

XXXXX

After returning to the apartment and cleaning up enough to sleep comfortably, Uindo called it a night and collapsed on the bed. Naruto thought about doing so himself, but he was too charged up from having met the old man and Sasuke again after all these years. He slipped through the window and sat atop the roof, staring up at the stars. He glanced at the Hokage Monument in the distance, and he found himself looking directly at the face of the Yondaime Hokage.

Naruto smiled. _–So I've finally returned to Konoha. It's been a little over 4 years, and a hell of a lot had happened. I wonder if any of the villagers have forgotten about the Kyuubi and me, I doubt the shinobi would so easily. -_

"**If they've forgotten about me then I'm a cute little fox called Chibi."**

Naruto let out a little laugh at the Kyuubi's joke. He had to admit, living with the fox all these years had been…fun. And he'd been a pretty good sensei whenever Itachi was unable to teach him himself. As his laughter died down, he thought back to the fateful night when he first encountered the fox. It had been the night of their first day out of Konoha, just after Itachi had finished explaining to Naruto about the Kyuubi…

Flashback

The loud sound of water dripping from a leaky pipe echoed around the corridor. Naruto blinked to clear his vision, hoping he was hallucinating, but the dank sewer he was standing in didn't vanish. He looked around, taking note of the various passageways that branched out from the hallway he was in. The water reached his knees, and it rippled occasionally when water dripped down from the red and blue pipes lining the ceiling. A low growl suddenly broke Naruto from his investigating, and an unbearable heat began to flow out from a nearby passageway. He slowly followed the growl and heat, his heart pounding and his mind screaming at him to run the other way.

He should've listened, for suddenly the passageway opened up to a vast room where the water seemed to deepen at. Along the far wall, where a wall should be at least, was a towering cage with golden doors, a small slip of paper on the central bar. As Naruto stepped closer, he noticed the kanji for 'seal' was written on the paper. He stopped in front of the bars, and the Kyuubi stepped out from the shadows of his cage, his red eyes glaring at Naruto and his mouth opening into a wicked grin.

"**So you're my container eh?"** Kyuubi lowered his head, turning his head slightly to look over Naruto better with one of his eyes.** "I gotta say, for a human you seem pretty pathetic."**

Naruto remained quite, seemingly ignoring the Kyuubi. **"What's the matter brat, don't know how to talk even?"** Silence again. The only thing Naruto did was look at the Kyuubi, his eyes clouded over. **"I guess you're afraid of me then, is that it? Well I guess I should expect that considering my history."**

The Kyuubi didn't care that Naruto remained silent, and he simply used the chance to gloat and egg the human into action. But no matter what he said, Naruto seemingly wouldn't respond. Kyuubi paused, wondering if the boy was somehow unconscious in his own mind, but he felt no strange feelings coming from the boy. He snorted and turned to walk back into the depths of his prison, when something suddenly struck him at the base of his nine tails. He turned, baring his teeth and growling, when suddenly another object suddenly struck him in the nose. He roared in pain, cursing under his breath as he rubbed a paw over his nose. Naruto didn't let the fox recover, as he made another rock form in his hand and threw it at the Kyuubi, this one striking the fox in one of his eyes.

The Kyuubi, now angry beyond belief, let out a roar and sent a pulse of his chakra across the waters, knocking Naruto down. **"HOW DARE YOU HIT THE GREAT KYUUBI NO KITSUNE! WHAT RIGHT DOES A HUMA-"**

"FUCK YOU!" yelled Naruto at the top of his lungs, even flipping the fox off, before he formed another rock and nailed the Kyuubi in the other eye. The Kyuubi became silent at that, a sense of shock freezing him from lashing out. Never had a human ever done what Naruto had done, not in the thousands of years he had lived. Some had been bold at the beginning when they encountered the fox, and others were terrified enough to wet themselves without Kyuubi having to even lift a paw. In the end though, despite how they were at the beginning, they all ended with the same emotion, fear, terrible and unrestrained fear as the Kyuubi killed them.

But now, a young 8 year old human was glaring at the fox without even a hint of fear or nervousness. And he had even hit the Kyuubi with rocks, ROCKS! Kyuubi was surprised, and intrigued.

"I DON'T CARE WHO YOU ARE! YOU'RE JUST ANOTER STUPID FUCKING FOX FOR ALL I CARE! 'OOH I'M THE KYUUBI, LOOK AT MY NINE TAILS. I CAN CREATE TSUNAMIS AND CRUMBLE MOUNTAINS.' BLAH BLAH FUCKING BLAH!" Naruto screamed. The blonde continued to rant and scream, splitting his shouting between simply cursing the fox and insulting it. The Kyuubi had gotten over his shock early on, but still he did respond. He simply sat there, listening to the little human child as it screamed and even occasionally tossed a rock at him. Finally, after what seemed to be hours, Naruto stopped, his breathing come in short gasps as he desperately tried to regain control over his normal breathing. The Kyuubi choose at this time to finally respond. He moved as close as he could to the bars, even sticking his claws out from between the bars a little, and lowered his head to stare directly at Naruto. Again, he saw no fear, no sense of dread over what he had been doing.

The Kyuubi chuckled, a dark rumbling in his throat that made the water shudder. **"You have got to be the craziest human I have EVER seen in my entire life Kit. Not once, not a single fucking time before this, has a human even dared to mock me, to call me anything like you have. And all I've got to say is…**" The Kyuubi growled, chakra pouring off of his fur and making the water evaporate. **"You better make sure I never get out. Because if I do I'm gonna rip your fucking throat out and make sure you live long enough afterwards to see me rip out every single organ in you and eat it in front of you, while I also skin you alive and clean my teeth with your bones."** The chakra died down and the Kyuubi grinned, his teeth shining and looking even more sinister and dangerous than earlier.

Naruto, despite the threat, couldn't help but somehow smile. "Like you'll ever let out you fucking fox. I promised Itachi-san to make sure you don't, and I never go back on a promise"

The Kyuubi laughed, but it held no sinister edge, it was just a simple humorous laugh. **"Well then, in order to do that, you must become stronger, much stronger."** He stood, towering over Naruto even more, and his tails fanned out behind him to complete the image he was making. **"How would you like to learn a few tricks…Kit?"**

End Flashback

And from that day on, whenever Itachi wasn't teaching him, the Kyuubi would. To this day he didn't understand why the Kyuubi was teaching him. He consulted Itachi, but Itachi also didn't understand. All the jutsu's he'd learned from Kyuubi never seemed to weaken the seal, and calling on the Kyuubi's chakra never seemed to affect the seal either. He could also use some of Kyuubi's chakra without any harm, even though his demonic chakra was supposed to be toxic to humans. Already two of Kyuubi's tails were available to him without harm, but using a third or fourth tail did cause his skin to begin to burn off, shortening his life span due to the rapid destruction and healing of his body being done by Kyuubi's chakra.

Closing his eyes, Naruto delved into his mind to the strange inner world that represented the seal. When he opened his eyes, he was standing in front of Kyuubi's cage, the water moving around the top of his feet. Inside the cage, Kyuubi was curled up with a large bowl of ramen in front of him.

Naruto chuckled, attracting Kyuubi's attention. "What's with the ramen? I thought you couldn't taste anything in here, much less have a need to eat anything."

The Kyuubi snorted, digging his face into the ramen again to eat a few noodles. **"I enjoy the act kit, and I can taste something in here if you're wondering. You just have to eat it yourself and your memories will provide me the taste."** He looked up from the bowl, a single noodle hanging from his nose. **"Besides, ramen is actually quite good, despite it being human food."**

Naruto laughed and waved goodbye, but not before making a few additional bowls of ramen appear next to the Kyuubi. His eyes twitched back in the real world and opened, staring up at the stars. He sighed and sat up, pulling his legs against his chest and wrapping his arms around them. _–Well Sasuke seems to be doing okay, and we're in the exams once she arrives. And if everything else goes well, then Gaara and Orochimaru won't be a problem either…But then again where there is good luck there's bad I suppose, even for me. -_

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a chakra signature appear behind him, a small audible pop also announcing the person's arrival. Naruto tensed, but then relaxed once he noticed who it was. "Hey Kakashi-san, nice to see you again."

Kakashi eye-smiled and looked up over the edge of his book for a moment. "Hello to you too Naruto, long time no see. It's been what, 3 years now?"

"Actually it's been 4."

"Maa, how time flies. I trust life has been okay outside of Konoha?"

Naruto looked back up at the stars, a small twinkling light in his eyes as he thought back. "The stars are brighter out in the wilderness. I've seen a lot of different starry nights, each with an amazing day that came before it and afterwards. You should've seen some of them Kakashi-san."

Kakashi nodded, curious but also happy at the blonde's words. He closed his book and carefully placed it back into its pouch before sitting down besides Naruto. "Sasuke has been pretty good in case you didn't know. His life was a little…troubled at first, mainly due to the trauma of the massacre and then later on with fan girls, but now he seems to be fine. I'm his sensei actually."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, the old man told me about it all. I'm glad that he's lived okay so far. I just hope it stays that way." Kakashi nodded in agreement. Naruto was silent for a moment, before turning his head to look at Kakashi. "So…what's happened while I was gone?"

XXXXX

One week later, Uindo and Naruto could be seen standing beside the gates of Konoha. They still wore the Akatsuki cloaks and hats, since Naruto was afraid of what his identity would lead to if others besides the Hokage and Kakashi knew that he was back. Naruto did suspect Sasuke also knew that he was here, no doubt from whatever Itachi had written in his letter, but he knew the Uchiha wouldn't tell anyone.

As for why they were standing in front of the gates, they were in fact awaiting the arrival of their third teammate for the exams. The chuunin exams were today, and scheduled to begin in a matter of minutes. They had arrived early to meet up with her, but that had been hours ago now.

"She really needs to learn how to tell time better, she's late." muttered Naruto, his left eye twitching slightly. Uindo chuckled nervously. "Now calm down Naruto, you know my sister can be annoying at times, but she does have a lot of skill up her sleeves, not to mention a pair of swords."

Naruto remained quiet as he grumbled about their teammate for another few minutes. Suddenly, just as Naruto was getting the urge to destroy a tree, a small figure appeared on the horizon. It was a girl, a year younger than Uindo and only slightly taller than Naruto. She wore the same cloak like Naruto and Uindo wore, but her hat was tied around her neck and resting on her back. As she got closer, the two could see her munching away on a dango stick in one hand, while a can of tea was in the other. On her right ring finger was a ring with the kanji for 'Suzaku' on it.

As she closed in on the gates, Naruto marched up to her and crossed his arms. "Where the hell have you been Hinote? We have only 10 minutes before the exams begin!"

Hinote shrugged, biting off the last of her dango and throwing the stick away. She brushed some loose strands of her long red hair back into the ponytail she had. Her brown eyes flashed red, similar to how her brothers' eyes flashed, and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, but you see I saw this really nice rest stop along the way. They had some good looking dango and I couldn't resist stopping to eat a few sticks."

Uindo quickly placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder before the blonde could growl at Hinote. "Well whatever, it's nice to see you again sister. Now let's hurry, we should be able to make it in time I we go now."

Naruto and Hinote nodded, and in a cloud of smoke, fire, and wind they all departed toward the building that was holding the first half of the exams.

XXXXX

Around five minutes after leaving the front gates, Naruto and his team arrived at the designated building and walked inside. At the second floor, Naruto felt a low leveled genjutsu somewhere nearby. Glancing at Uindo, his suspicion was confirmed when both he and his sister nodded. Once at the top of the stairs, they saw a large crowd of genin standing in front of a door. Naruto detected the genjutsu around the door, and he also realized that the two genin blocking everyone from entering were in fact two chuunin under a henge.

A strange green clad genin with huge eyebrows flew back as one of the chuunin punched him, and a girl with her hair tied into two buns quickly followed him. Naruto stepped forward to interfere, but Uindo placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "No need, it's just a part of the exam. Weeding out the weaker ones before it really begins." He whispered.

Naruto nodded, and silently the three of them slipped past to walk up to the third floor. At the door to the exam room, Naruto was surprised to see Kakashi standing there reading his book. They greeted each other but didn't say anything else as Kakashi moved aside to let them in. Once inside, they were amused to feel a large wave of killer intent wash over them. It however was pretty pathetic, and the only reason it was so large was because the entire room was releasing some.

Shrugging off the weak attempt at scaring them, the three Kaze shinobi looked around at the various teams. Every village except Kiri and Kumo seemed to be there, but mostly Sand and Konoha shinobi dominated the room. The door opened behind them, and Sasuke walked in with his team, freezing momentarily when they too felt the killer intent. Naruto however detected something else amidst it all, the telltale feeling of bloodlust, and it was pretty powerful too. He scanned the room, hoping to find where it was coming from, but just as quickly as it had appeared it vanished.

Meanwhile, while the rest of his team had gathered with the rest of the Rookie Nine, Sasuke stood a little distance away and stared at Naruto and his team. Naruto turned from looking across the room and locked eyes with Sasuke. Sasuke walked up to Naruto, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes. The two stood there, neither moving and only glaring at the other. Uindo and Hinote tensed, afraid the two might suddenly start fighting.

Suddenly, Sasuke smirked, and extended his hand out. "Dobe."

Naruto grinned, and took Sasuke hand in a hand shake. "Teme."

"Good to see you again, I hope you've gotten stronger."

"Of course, with your brother teaching me who couldn't?"

Sasuke let out an amused grunt and looked over Naruto's shoulder at the blonde's two teammates. "So who are they?"

"Oh right!" Naruto turned and walked back to stand between Uindo and Hinote. "Sasuke, meet Uindo…" Uindo nodded, his eyes flashing green for a moment. "And Hinote, Uindo's sister." Hinote smiled, her brown eyes also flashing, but red instead of green.

Sasuke nodded to the two, glancing at Hinote a few seconds longer than Uindo, before looking at Naruto again. "Nice to meet you two. So Naruto, you gonna be there in the finals? I'd hate it if I missed a chance at fighting you."

Naruto laughed. "Of course Sasuke! I wouldn't miss fighting you for anything!"

Just before any of them could continue however, a large cloud of smoke enveloped the front of the room. From inside of it, a large man in a black trench coat appeared along with several chuunin. He barked an order for silence and for everyone to sit down in their seats. The first part of the Chuunin Exams had begun.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:** This is a revised edition of Chapter 2. I hope you enjoyed it! (And previous Author Note in revised chapters no longer exist)


	3. Chapter 3

"Normal Speech"

_-Thoughts-_

**"Demon Speech"**

**"Jutsu!"**

XXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 3: Of Forests, Snakes, and Seals

The instructor of the first part of the chuunin exam, Morino Ibiki, called for silence. The chuunin spread out along the sides of the room, sitting down and raising their clipboards. After all the genin had also seated, Ibiki began explaining the rules to everyone. Naruto however was only half listening. With the little time he had left before the test began, he scanned over the room to assess where his teammates were. He himself was seated near the center, Uindo was in the row ahead of him and next to one of the proctor, and Hinote was seated directly behind him. He also looked for Sasuke and his team, but all could see of them was Akamaru sitting atop his masters head near the front.

He noticed that Ibiki was beginning to wind down on his instructions and so he thought back to what he had been saying. _–Five strikes and you're done. Also, if you get caught five times and fail, so do your teammates. And even if you're not caught, then if just one of your teammates gets a zero, then you all fail. –_ Naruto looked down at his paper, scanning the questions. _–What the…these are way too hard for just a bunch of genin. You'd have to be at least a jonin to understand the basics on some of these, and a bookworm to get the remainder. –_ He narrowed his eyes and looked to the side of the room at a chuunin proctors. _–Something's up…-_

"In addition, the tenth and final question will only be revealed ten minutes before the end of the test. You have one hour, BEGIN!" yelled Ibiki. A large shuffle of papers and pencils scratching along paper marked the beginning of the test.

Naruto however didn't do anything. He glanced one more time at the proctors before closing his eyes in thought. _–Five strikes, the ten minutes mark, the chuunin proctors, and the impossible to answer questions…Yep, this guy's good, nice use of psychological warfare. –_ He smirked and picked up his pencil, tapping the tip of it on the table occasionally. _–We're supposed to cheat, probably to test our information gathering skills. After all, even if you were to obtain information on a mission, it doesn't mean shit if you get caught and possibly killed. The worst thing the enemy could do is contain you for…questioning. –_ Nearby, Uindo and Hinote also tapped their pencils, and Naruto stopped his tapping. Placing the pencil down, he rested his head in his arms and decided to doze off. _–He's probably planted a few chuunin who know the answers around the room, to help us pass. We just have to find them, steal the info, and make sure, if caught, that we don't exceed the five strike limit. Not that we'll need to even bother to be sneaky with our cheating… -_

As the hour passed by, the occasional kunai would suddenly go flying across the room and plant itself in a test takers paper. The chuunin proctors would name his number and team off, and with that they failed. Some of the teams left quietly, others were knocked out by the chuunin before they decided to fight. Naruto, Uindo, and Hinote simply dozed through all of this, at least until only 12 minutes were left. Naruto opened one eye, grabbed his pencil, and tapped it on the desk a few times. Uindo and Hinote also tapped their pencils on the desk, and then closed their eyes again as if asleep.

The room filled with cries of shock and surprise. Many of the test papers had suddenly burst into flames, quickly turning to ash in mere seconds. Before any could attempt to try and save them however, one of the room's windows opened slightly and a strong breeze blew the ash away. The chuunin were to first to respond to the strange event, calling out the names and numbers of those who had lost their papers. Again many left in silence or started fighting, but they were again taken care of before anything could happen. One case in particular was funny, since while two teammates had jumped and tried to tackle Ibiki, their third teammate, a boy wearing a large coat and sun glasses, raised his arms and caught his teammates in clouds of bugs. Still cursing at Ibiki, the two were led out of the room by their own teammate.

As the chaos finally ended, Naruto sat up and looked down at his paper. A small breeze, barely noticeable except for the small flapping of the papers edge, blew ash onto his paper. The wind seemed to circle the paper, before the ash suddenly began forming the answers to the questions. Once they were all filled in, Naruto smirked and tapped his pencil once, and behind him he heard Hinote do the same. Uindo shifted slightly and tapped his pencil a few times, making Naruto cough to hide his laughter. _–Good, we get to pass and the competition is cut in half practically. And the only indication of us being the culprits is our little pencil tapping moments. A good prank and a job well done. –_

About a minute later, Ibiki called out that he was announcing the final question. Before he revealed it however, he explained a new set of rules to the genin. When given the option to quit, several of the remaining teams raised their hands. Naruto however wasn't afraid. _–And yet again he uses psychological warfare against us. If you raise you hand and quit, you get to try again in six months. Continue on, answer the question wrong, and you fail, never to pass the rank of genin for the rest of our shinobi careers. Two things wrong about that though. One, nobody has that kind of authority to prevent people from becoming chuunin. Two, the enemy on a mission would never give you a second chance in real life. If you take a mission, you see it out until the end, no matter what. All you can do really is hope it ends with you and your teams lives intact. -_

When all the quitters had finally been weeded out, Ibiki threw one last threat out to make sure everyone's decisions were final. When nobody responded to his threat, he smirked and said, "Congratulation then, all of you pass the firs part of the exams!"

Several of the genin cheered, and Naruto took the opportunity to look around. He was happy to see Sasuke's smirking face near the front, which meant neither of his teammates, had chickened out. Several other Konoha genin had survived too, and then there were a few scattered teams of Suna, Ame, Kusa, and the one team from Oto. He didn't care about any of them really, except for a certain sand team and their red haired teammate.

A loud crashing sound broke Naruto from his searching, and he turned to the front just in time to see a large piece of cloth unravel and cover the front of the room. Big bold letters covered it, and standing in front of it was a kunoichi. She had her purple hair tied back in a spiky ponytail, a large brown trench coat, a tan mini skirt, and besides a fish net shirt over her chest, she wore nothing else. As she moved, Naruto was surprised that the trench coat somehow managed to continuously hide her basically bare chest besides the small teaser that stuck out in the middle.

"Alright quit you celebrating! My name's Anko Mitarashi! I'll be your proctor for the second half of the exam." She waved a hand and jumped out the window. "Follow me!"

The room was silent for a few minutes, before Ibiki suddenly stuck his head out from behind the cloth. "She was too early…again." He muttered. His words seemed to set everyone back into motion, and the genin all flowed out of the room to follow the crazy kunoichi.

XXXXX

"Welcome…to the Forest of Death! Or in other words, the location of the next part of the exam." said Anko, waving her hand dramatically at the giant fenced in forest behind her. Naruto was quite impressed at the forest's size, but he wasn't too afraid. After all, when you're nearly eaten alive by a human venus fly trap, you don't get scared too easily afterwards. He broke away from the haunting memory as Anko shot him a dangerous look, probably as a warning to not ignore her.

"Anyway, the rules are like this. Inside the forest is a tower, located in the center of this place. You goal is to get there within the five day time limit, with…" she reached into her trench coat, somehow still concealing her breast from view. What she pulled out was two nearly identical scrolls, one with the kanji for 'earth' on it and the other with the kanji for 'heaven' on it. "These. You won't be allowed into the tower without at least one of each scroll. You will be assigned one at the start of the test, and your job will be to steal the one you don't have from a team that does have it. So in summary, you pass if you have one of each scroll and get to the tower within five days. You fail if you don't complete this task within five days, if you open the scrolls before entering the tower, or if one or all of your teammates die."

Anko again reached into her trench coat, and this time pulled out several pieces of paper. "Sign these consent forms and then turn them in at the tent over there. Once we receive all the forms for your team, you will randomly receive one of the two scrolls." She handed the papers out to the genin and walked away. "Oh by the day…" she glanced over her shoulder, smirk climbing up her face. "Try not to die okay? It'll be a pain, not to mention really messy, if we have to clean all that blood up after you."

XXXXX

A half hour later, Naruto and his team were standing outside one of the various gates lining the fence of the Forest of Death. Uindo and Hinote were playing a few rounds of Jan-Ken-Pon, with Uindo winning most of the time.

"So Naruto, which scroll did we get anyway?" asked Uindo. He threw out his fist, and Hinote cursed as she glared at her two fingers.

"The Earth scroll, which means we need the Heaven scroll." replied Naruto. Behind him, Uindo this time stuck out his palm, and Hinote muttered a few curses as he wrapped his hand around her fist.

"Got anything planned for Sasuke, or the Oto team?"

"Hmm…" Naruto carefully placed the scroll into his cloak and crossed his arms in thought. "Not really. But it wouldn't hurt to help Sasuke's team pass. That way we're guaranteed to fight each other at some point."

"Hey brother…" whispered Hinote. Uindo paused in throwing out his fist, looking up at his sister. "Why does Naruto-kun want to fight Sasuke so badly?"

Uindo chuckled, leaning back against the fence. "They're rivals Hinote, it's something they have to do. Prove who's the strongest, or in their case, show how strong Sasuke is." His eyes briefly flickered with green as he looked at Hinote. "Like how siblings sometimes fight, ya know?"

"Oh…"

Suddenly the loud buzzing of the timer went off above the gate, announcing the start of the second half of the exam. The gate burst open, and together they all vanished into the forest with a burst of chakra. They slipped through the tree's, ignoring the occasional scream that already was echoing through the forest. It had been around 12 minutes since the gates opened, and Uindo led them to a small clearing for them to all sit down in.

"Alright, so first let's get some info on all the teams. If you would, Uindo?" said Naruto.

Uindo nodded, and then closed his eyes. A small breeze began blowing though the trees, kicking up the occasional leaf from time to time. Slowly though it grew, kicking up dust now and the occasional small twig. It began to focus around Uindo, creating a whirlwind around his body that obscured his body from view due to all of the leaves blowing in it. His eyes opened slightly, a barely visible glow coming from them.

Naruto pulled out a small scroll and pen from under his cloak, just as Uindo began talking. "I'm a leaf in the wind, watch how I soar…" He chanted these words a few times, before continuing on to list of names and scrolls. "Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyuuga, and Kiba Inuzuka…Konoha…they hold a Heaven scroll. Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi…Konoha…they hold an Earth scroll. Dosu Kinuta, Kin Tsuchi, and Zaku Abumi…Oto…they have a Heaven scroll."

This continued for several more minutes, each time listing the names, village, and the scroll each team had. Suddenly the wind began to die down, and Uindo fully closed his eyes again. When the last leaf dropped from a now non-existent wind, Uindo fully opened his eyes and looked over at Naruto. "That's all of them Naruto."

"Okay then…" Naruto rolled the scroll back to the beginning and began looking through the names he'd written down. "We'll try to avoid Konoha teams…and Suna in case we stumble across the one Gaara is a part of. Wouldn't be a good idea to face him right now…" Naruto trailed off, focusing on two teams. "Hey Uindo, you said the name of two villages for some of the teams."

Uindo moved next to Naruto, looking over his shoulder. "Oh yeah, I did. That's strange, but the wind doesn't lie. It has no reason to Naruto."

"Hold on, let me see that thing." Before Naruto could say anything, Hinote jumped over and snatched the scroll from his hands. She looked over the writing, instantly finding the strange occurrence. "Let's see…Konoha and Oto…and Kusa and Oto…" She smirked, her eyes flashing red. "Well this is pretty obvious if you ask me. They're spies, no doubt working for Orochimaru if their Oto allegiance is any indication."

"Well then, I guess we should take care of them huh?" Naruto looked at the two siblings, please that they both had a mischievous smirk on their faces. "Right then, let's split up and take care of business." He took back the scroll and quickly looked over the teams one more time. "Uindo, Hinote, you two go and take care of the Oto team pretending to be Konoha shinobi. They have an Earth scroll, but that doesn't matter. I'll take care of the Kusa impersonators and grab their Heaven scroll. But before that, I'll give Sasuke our Earth scroll so that he can pass."

With a quick nod, Uindo and Hinote vanished back into the trees. Naruto stood in the clearing alone, focusing his senses to try and detect Sasuke's charka signature. He sent a burst of chakra out, and was satisfied when he felt the faint pulse of his chakra come back to him. He took off in the direction he had felt it come back from, unaware that he was not the only one closing in on his rivals' position.

XXXXX

Sasuke and his team moved through the trees, making sure they avoided anything that might bring attention to them. Kiba was in the lead, his and Akamaru's noses twitching from time to time as they tried to detect anyone nearby. Sasuke was in the middle, Sharingan activated with three tomoe spinning in each eye, ready to fight if either of his teammates saw another team approach. Behind them both, Hinata had her Byakugan activated and scanning all around them. Although she unfortunately did not have a fully mature Byakugan, it did allow her to see all around her and a few feet away, providing a little warning in case Kiba's nose failed them.

"Hey guys hold up, I smell someone." said Kiba. They all landed in a small clearing, ducking under a few bushes to hide.

"Where are they coming from?" asked Sasuke.

Kiba sniffed, a small frown forming on his face. Akamaru whined atop his head. "Weird…it's only one guy. But his smell is weird, and dangerous."

"D-Dangerous?" whispered Hinata.

"He's got the smell of blood, earth, and ash on him, which means he's probably killed someone before and been in a lot of fights. But he's also got…I don't know, it kinda reminds me of foxes, but it's so faint and twisted that I can't be sure." Kiba sniffed the air a little again. "Plus…If I had to really put a word to it…he has the smell of something…mythical on him. Something you either look at in awe, or fear for your life with."

Despite himself, Sasuke gulped and felt a trickle of sweat run down the side of his face. _–Mythical? How can something like that have a smell? –_ He looked over at Kiba again, his nervousness only increasing as he saw Akamaru move from atop Kiba's head to inside his jacket. But suddenly, something Kiba said began to ring inside Sasuke's mind. _–He said this guy smelled like foxes…but twisted? Wait a minute… -_

A smirk grew on Sasuke's face as he stepped out from behind the bushes. His teammates tried to pull him back in, thinking he'd suddenly lost it to try and face the mysterious shinobi, but he simply jumped ahead of their hands. He walked out to the center of the clearing, crossing his arms and waiting until he could feel his presence arrive. He didn't have to wait long, and not only did he feel him arrive, he saw him.

"Hey dobe, good to see ya." said Sasuke. Naruto laughed and walked up to Sasuke, playfully punching the Uchiha's shoulder in greeting. "Hey Sasuke-teme. I hope I didn't scare your two teammates over there." Kiba and Hinata froze, scared that Naruto had found them. But Sasuke's calm attitude around the blonde made them calm a little bit, and they slowly walked out from behind the bushes to face him.

"Hello there Inuzuka-san, Hyuuga-san." Naruto nodded his head toward them, and then looked at Sasuke again. He reached into his cloak, causing Kiba and Hinata to tense slightly, and pulled out his Earth scroll. He tossed it toward Sasuke, and he turned to leave.

"Hey hold on a minute dobe, what the hell is this all about?" asked Sasuke, holding up the Earth scroll he's just caught. Naruto looked over his shoulder, shrugging slightly. "My team doesn't need it, since my two teammates are already securing another Earth scroll as we speak. I'll be heading out right now to get a Heaven too, so see ya."

"H-Hey hold on a minute!" yelled Kiba. "Why the hell should we trust you? You just show up, hand over your teams scroll, and just leave? Sasuke may trust you it seems, but I sure as hell don't!"

Naruto frowned under his cloaks collar. "Why not? I haven't attacked you, nor have I asked for your own scroll, which I know is a Heaven scroll." Kiba opened his mouth to ask how he knew, but suddenly Naruto tensed and pushed Sasuke away from him. He turned and shouted to Kiba and Hinata, "GET DOWN!" And no sooner had he said that then a huge wall of wind suddenly slammed into him and sent him flying out of the clearing.

XXXXX

Kabuto smirked, his glowing palm flat against Uindo's chest. He hated that he had to reveal some of his hidden skills, but by killing these two he knew they would remain hidden for a while longer, at least long enough for Orochimaru to complete his plans. He looked at Uindo's face, but was surprised to find a small smirk on the blondes face.

Suddenly Kabuto dropped to the ground, unconscious with several small cuts running up his arms and chest. Uindo stood behind him, placing something back into his cloak. He turned to look over at where his sister was, and was glad to see that she too was already done playing around with Kabuto's two teammates. They both lay facedown on the ground, their clothes covered with a little ash and soot from her attacks.

Hinote walked up to Uindo, wiping her hands clean on her cloak. "That's that brother. Do you have their scroll?"

Uindo nodded, holding up the Earth scroll he'd take from Kabuto during his attack. "Yep, right inside pocket. It seems he was confident that nobody could beat him." Uindo paused, looking down at Kabuto for a moment. "But then again, I think that confidence was well placed. He's at least jonin level, maybe elite in some regards. Definitely a spy like you said Hinote."

"Yep, not to mention I found this on the stretchy guy." Hinote held up a head band, the Oto symbol clear as day on the center of the metal plate. "I can't believe he was so stupid as to actually have this thing on him."

"They probably were gonna quit as soon as they reached the tower or something. That way they could…" Uindo froze, and Hinote could tell why. A massive chakra signature was growing somewhere inside the forest. From what they could sense, it was coming from where they had detected Naruto was heading toward. And it definitely wasn't Naruto or any genin for that matter too.

"…Well this is unexpected. I can't say for sure, but I bet that's Orochimaru's chakra." muttered Uindo.

"Why would the Hebi be out in the front lines like this?" asked Hinote.

"Not sure, but then again we don't even know what his plan is yet for Konoha and the exams. This could just be a part of his plan." Uindo sighed and jumped into a nearby tree. Before he left, he shouted over his shoulder. "Could you take care of these guys while I take care of this?" And then he left before Hinote could respond.

"Aww…I wanted to have fun!" Hinote sighed and looked at the three unconscious shinobi. "Well then, I might as well just throw you guys out of the forest. That should ruin any of your plans hopefully." She sighed again as she realized how difficult it would be to drag the three out of the forest. "I really should have Naruto-kun teach me Kage Bunshin…"

XXXXX

Naruto landed on a tree branch and wiped off the last of the snake guts from his cloak and clothes underneath. He scowled as he recalled the giant snake summon that had greeted, and then eaten him, when he finally stopped flying from the jutsu that had hit him. It didn't help that the Kage Bunshin he had used to blow it up had sent their memories back to him, making the entire experience even more disturbing.

An explosion broke him from the stray line of thinking and he focused back on the clearing where Sasuke stood. Behind and to the side of him, Kiba and Hinata were laying facedown on the ground. Kiba appeared to have a large wound on his stomach and left arm, and Hinata seemed to have been knocked out with barely a scratch on him. Akamaru was hiding behind his master's body, his tail between his legs.

Sasuke however was in the worst condition. A kunai was lodged in his left shoulder, blood ran down his forehead from under his head band, and his clothes were tattered, probably from a wind jutsu like the one that Naruto had been blasted with. Sasuke stepped back, and from the suddenly jerk he made, Naruto could guess that some of his ribs had been broken.

From a cloud of smoke across from Sasuke, a Kusa-nin stepped out from it, unscratched and only a hint of dirt on her clothes. She laughed, her voice changing to a deeper tone, and suddenly she grabbed the edge of her face. Sasuke and Naruto watched in sick awe as she pulled her face off, revealing that she was in fact a he. His face was pale, his yellow serpentine eyes surrounded by purple face paint that made his image even more intimidating. He ran a hand over his head band, and when he removed it that symbol on it had changed from that of Kusa to Oto.

"Kukukukuku…nice try Sasuke-kun, but not enough." said the man. He brushed some of his long black hair away from his face, and when he locked eyes with Sasuke, the Uchiha froze. "I was hoping that you would be stronger than this, but it seems I had placed my hopes too high."

"W-What d-did you do to m-me?" Sasuke gasped. Naruto noticed that he tried to move, but something seemed to be preventing him.

"Ah, it's just a simple paralysis. It will wear off in time, but right now…" Naruto barely noticed the man run through a few hand signs, and he had only a few seconds to act as his neck suddenly stretched out and his head moved toward Sasuke's neck.

The mans mouth clamped down on Sasuke's neck, his fangs digging into the flesh and injecting a strange mixture of chakra and unknown properties into Sasuke. But suddenly Sasuke burst into smoke, revealing that it had been a log that the man had bitten instead of his intended target. A powerful kick sent his head flying back, and as he pulled his neck back to its normal form, he noticed a blonde boy land behind the log. Three clones of the blonde landed behind the original, each holding one of the genin that the man had been fighting.

"Dobe…" Sasuke flinched as the clone holding him adjusted his grip, rubbing his broken ribs together. "Be careful, he's way too strong to be a genin."

"Yeah, I know that…" Naruto looked over at the man, his eyes turning red for a moment before returning to their normal blue. "Long time no see…Orochimaru-teme."

Orochimaru laughed, rubbing his chin subconsciously. "Now this is unexpected. How…nice it is to meet you again, Naruto-kun. Tell me, how is Itachi?"

Naruto grunted. "Not bad, especially since he doesn't have to look at your ugly face. Guess I'm not so lucky, eh?"

"Why are you here? I must say, I never expected any of Akatsuki to arrive and try to stop me."

"Heh, we'll always be there to stop you, if not for revenge against what you almost did to Itachi, then for just being the evil monster you are."

Orochimaru glanced past Naruto, and was displeased with the murderous glare Sasuke was shooting at him. "It seems my little plan has been ruined, no thanks to your words. I guess I'll just have to kill you and take my prize by force."

Naruto tensed, his arms moving into the sleeves of the cloak to grab something. "Sasuke, just cooperate with my clones and get you and your team out of here. It won't be safe for you in a few seconds."

"W-What? Are you…" Sasuke felt something on the back of neck, before darkness overtook him. The clone pulled back his hand and nodded to the real Naruto, before all three of them sped off into the trees. Naruto focused back on Orochimaru. "Now that they're all out of the way, let's get wild!"

Two shuriken shot out from the cloaks sleeves, each guided by a wire. Orochimaru easily dodged them, cutting the wires as they passed with a kunai. The wires however didn't drop, but they did begin to glow with chakra as they wrapped around Orochimaru's stomach. Naruto pulled back on the wire, but all he got in return was two clumps of mud falling to the ground.

Orochimaru came from behind, a snake shooting out from his sleeve as it bit down on Naruto's leg. A log was shattered by the snake's impressive jaw strength, and it died seconds later by the shuriken that pinned it to the ground. Orochimaru and Naruto stood across from each other, neither moving into another attack just yet. _–I can hold him off, but I can't win with my restrictions. Guess I'll just have to wait… -_ thought Naruto.

Orochimaru suddenly began running through hand signs, before pointing his arm at Naruto. **"Sen'eijashu!"** Ten snakes shot out from his sleeves, hissing at they closed in on Naruto. He dodged the snakes, and each one clamped down on the tree behind him. Naruto noticed with concern as he saw the bark around their bark marks become dark with a powerful poison. The snakes pulled back, taking a large chunk of the tree back with them, and they threw it at Naruto as they retracted back into Orochimaru's sleeve.

Naruto kicked the tree piece away, pulling out a few more shuriken and launching them at Orochimaru. **"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"** The shuriken doubled, then tripled, and Orochimaru's clone became a pile of shuriken covered mud. Naruto felt a pair of hands grab his ankles, and suddenly the world was spinning as Orochimaru shot out of the ground and began spinning him around, his torso stretched out to allow for such a crazy maneuver. He slammed Naruto into a tree, creating an impressive crater, but a puff of smoke was his reward for his attack. A burning pain came from his stretched out stomach, a kunai now lodged in it, and Naruto appeared above him with another to pierce his skull.

"**Dokugiri!"**

Naruto cursed as he held his breath and dived into the cloud of poison Orochimaru spewed from his mouth. Because of this Orochimaru managed to pull his body back to normal, and didn't waste time in attacking again. **"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"** The fireball ignited the gas, sending Naruto flying out from the explosion. He landed on the trunk of a tree, his cloak singed but luckily not destroyed. A loud hissing noise was his only warning before a dozen snakes bit down on his clone, destroying it in a matter of seconds.

"**Raiton: Rakurai!"** Naruto pointed two fingers at Orochimaru, lightning jumping from the tips of them and piercing the snake through one arm. The arm itself fell off, and changed into dozens of snake that slithered up Orochimaru's body to once again form the arm. Orochimaru turned, and his chest burst into hundreds of snakes, followed by the rest of his body. Naruto flew through more hand signs and slammed his hands on the ground. **"Doton: Yomi Numa!"**

The earth beneath the snakes collapsed into the newly formed swamp, only a few feet deep, but just enough to kill the snakes. Another snake dived out from a tree above Naruto, but just as it was about to crush the blonde, the clone exploded, taking the summon with it.

"Kukukukuku…my, you indeed are strong Naruto-kun. I suppose it's my fault for not watching Akatsuki fight all those years ago that I've misjudged your skill level." said Orochimaru, his voice coming from all around the clearing and nearby forest.

"Nah, you're just an idiot who thinks he's immortal." replied Naruto, his voice also being projected around the area.

Two shadows suddenly clashed in the center of the clearing, a sword in Orochimaru's hands and a simple kunai in Naruto's. Seeing the sword, Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Kusanagi? It seems you're taking things up a level after all." Orochimaru only grinned, and Naruto suddenly saw his death through the man's eyes. A short and small burst of Kyuubi's chakra however quickly removed the illusion, allowing Naruto to block the sword strike from decapitating his head. The two clashed in the clearing, sword and kunai emitting small sparks from the powerful strikes. Orochimaru moved back, his sword posed to block, but one of his hands running through hand signs. He shot his hand out, shouting, **"Sen'eitajashu!"**

Over a hundred snake shot out from his sleeve, each swarming over where Naruto was standing. For a moment it seemed as if the mass of snakes had completely engulfed him, but the sound of sliced flesh showed that Naruto was alive. He jumped clear of the snakes, followed by four clones. They all gathered together, and then the clones charged at Orochimaru. Just as they jumped to attack, Orochimaru saw Naruto holding one hand sign, a huge smirk on his face.

"**Bunshin Daibakuha!"**

Four explosions engulfed Orochimaru as the clones exploded. Naruto tensed, wary that he had only struck a clone or replacement like before. When the cloud of dust cleared, he found nobody standing there, a log completely shattered and burnt in the middle of the crater. Naruto turned, and stared right back at the snake eyes of Orochimaru. A sickening slicing sound came from his stomach as Orochimaru pushed the Kusanagi further into his stomach.

Orochimaru licked his lips and pulled his sword free, kicking Naruto away. Naruto landed with a grunt, one hand covering the growing blood stain on his cloak. Orochimaru laughed and walked up to the fallen blonde, sword raised over his head in a killing blow. "Excellent Naruto-kun, to think you are this skilled without the Kyuubi to help you. Tell me, why didn't you use his power?"

Naruto didn't respond at first, his attention seemingly focused on his wound. Orochimaru frowned, thinking that he would be killing the boy without a response to his question. However, just as he was preparing to lower the blade, Naruto looked up, a huge smirk on his blood covered lips.

"I don't need his power to kill a teme like you. And besides…I was only stalling you fucking freak."

"**Futon: Kaze Kiwa!"**

Orochimaru screamed as the arm holding the Kusanagi was shredded by the whirling mass of wind and chakra that pierced it. Uindo smirked behind him, and kicked Orochimaru away. As the Snake Sannin writhed in pain, since apparently he had indeed been the original, Uindo helped Naruto up and supported him.

"I hope I wasn't too late." He said.

"No…but you were cutting it a little close." said Naruto. He coughed up a little blood and wiped it away. "Damn restrictions…" he muttered.

"How long will it take to clear out the poison?" asked Uindo.

"I don't know. A few of his snakes also bit me in addition to what the Kusanagi has. Since they're both pretty potent, my guess is at least a day, and that's pushing my luck with Itachi's orders."

Uindo nodded and glanced at Orochimaru, frowning as he saw the mass of skin that remained from Orochimaru's retreat. "It looks like he shed his skin or something and left. Probably some regeneration jutsu to fix the arm I just destroyed." Uindo suddenly chuckled a little under his breath. "He left like the snake he is, slithering on his belly and through the dirt."

Naruto joined in on the laugh, but had to stop when he felt his body begin to shut down. "Look…I don't have long before I pass out. Here's what you need to do…"

Naruto explained about his clones and Sasuke's team, even pointing Uindo in the direction they left in. Uindo also told Naruto about their successful retrieval of the Earth scroll, but just as he finished explaining he felt Naruto go limp in his grip. Muttering a quick curse, Uindo placed Naruto on his back and jumped into the trees, sending a pulse of chakra out to alert Hinote of his actions.

XXXXX

A day had passed since the encounter against Orochimaru and the two teams were still recovering under the roots of a large tree. Naruto and Kiba were still out, with several bandages covering Kiba's chest and arm. Naruto had a small wet cloth on his head, but otherwise Uindo had told them to leave him to his own healing. Uindo and Sasuke were standing guard near the opening of the roots, Hinote was sitting in front of a fire with a stick of dango in her mouth, and Hinata was slowly falling asleep besides Kiba with Akamaru on her lap.

Sasuke looked back at the others, blushing slightly as Hinote winked at him. He ended on Naruto, and looked over at Uindo besides him. "It's been a day nearly, are you sure we didn't need to treat the poison?"

Uindo shook his head. "There's no need. Like I said, Kyuubi can take care of any poison thanks to his healing abilities, but he'll need time that's all. It's actually taking a little longer than usual, but I know why so there's no need to worry." He glanced at Sasuke. "How's your team doing Sasuke?"

"Hn…Hinata is very skilled in medicine. Kakashi saw the potential when he realized that Hinata wasn't much of a fighter and how skilled she was in making healing salve. From that day on, he kept on sending her to the hospital to learn the skills of a medical-nin whenever we trained. If anyone can take care of Kiba it's her, and I doubt there's anybody in this forest besides us who would be willing to help us out too."

Silence filled the air again, the only real sound coming from the crackling fire behind them. Sasuke shifted slightly, turning slightly so he could keep his attention split between the trees and Uindo. "So Uindo, how did you and your sister meet Naruto anyway?"

Uindo's eyes flashed between green and blue like they sometimes did as he smirked. "We first met a few months before Itachi and the others killed off the original Akatsuki and its leader. Back then, my sister and I were wanderers, not bothering to ally with any village or to settle down anywhere. Before you ask, no I don't know why we were doing this, it was just something we did since we could remember. Anyway, I kinda stumbled across them in a clearing when I smelled something cooking. It had actually been a couple rabbits they had caught and were roasting over a fire. They were cautious of course, but after my stomach growled, really loud too, they calmed down and invited me to eat with them."

Uindo paused, his eyes glazing over as he thought back. "They were actually pretty nice to me, and the next day I left again on my own. Time passed, and about a week or so later I was running low on a lot of things, including food and money. So like I sometimes did, I entered a hidden village, I think it was Kumo but I'm not sure, and stole one of their latest bingo books. I scanned over the list of criminals, and just for the heck of it I decided to see who the latest S-rank criminals were. Itachi was right there on the first page, much to my surprise"

"So you went after my brother?" asked Sasuke. "And somehow you ended up as an ally of his?"

Uindo nodded. "Yeah, and it's all thanks to Naruto, and then later on a question that Itachi asked me. It took a while, but when I caught up with them again I just walked into their camp like last time. Itachi was asleep nearby and Naruto was tending to the fire. He recognized me and offered up a fish he'd caught. We spent most of the night like this, just talking and eating, having a good time all around. Then out of nowhere Naruto asked me if I was really gonna try to capture Itachi. I was shocked, and so I asked him how he knew. He just pointed to the bingo book that was barely visible sticking out of my pocket."

"So did you say no?"

"Not right off the bat. I kept quiet and even dozed for a little while, since I had a feeling that Naruto wasn't going to do anything as long as I didn't do anything myself. In the morning, I asked Itachi to a fight, pulling out my sword even to show I was serious." Uindo opened his cloak slightly, just enough to reveal the sword strapped to his waist. As he closed his cloak again, a happy smile covered his face. "Your brother is simply amazing, a truly skilled shinobi even without his bloodline. Hell, at the beginning he didn't even use the Sharingan against me. And then, when I stepped things up, he used it and wiped the floor with me. In the end I was on my hand and knees, a kunai against my throat. Sometimes I wish I had completed my fighting style before fighting him, but then I realized that everything that has happened wouldn't have if I had won. Anyway, Itachi just held me in that position for a while, silence filling the air between us as I tried to regain my breath. Suddenly, out of nowhere he asked me what it is that I wanted in life. The question did surprise me, but I answered nonetheless."

Sasuke watched as Uindo sat down on the ground, picking up a leaf and twirling it between his fingers. "At first I said it was to just see rare sights, and fight strong opponents. But then I began to think, was that really it? Was that the limit of my dreams? I guess Itachi saw the hesitation in my decision, because he put his kunai away and helped me up. Again he asked me the same question, and I remained silent this time. Naruto, for some reason or another, invited me to come along with them so that I could find the answer."

Sasuke waited for Uindo to continue, but after a moment he realized that the blonde had become lost in his memories. He kicked Uindo and grunted, making the blonde snap out of his memories. "Oh, sorry about that Sasuke. Well anyway I joined the original Akatsuki for while and even met up with Hinote during one of my missions. She was bored out of her mind and asked what I was up to. I told my story, even mentioning Itachi and Naruto's past and goals. Surprisingly, she decided to help us out, although she refused to join Akatsuki yet."

"Why did she do that?" asked Sasuke.

Uindo shrugged. "Hinote's just like that. My guess is that it was because she loves fighting, and there's no greater opponent than a bunch of S-rank criminals. But then again, she also seems to want to fulfill Itachi's dream like I do."

"You do? What is his dream?"

"In time, just let me finish first okay? Well then a few months later, everything finally came to a boil and Akatsuki was at war with itself. The fighting was fierce, and there were a few close calls too, but in the end we won without anyone dying on our side. With Akatsuki now under Itachi's command, we set out to fulfill his dream, which I will tell you now. He wanted to create a village, and then with its power he would help jinchuriki find a home where they were loved and respected, not feared and hated like the rest of the world sees them. And also, he wanted to bring peace to the world by sealing the remaining biju away and…well I'd tell you more, but that's only really up to Itachi."

Uindo stood up and dusted off his cloak. He frowned for a moment, and then looked at Sasuke. "Oh yeah, in case you didn't realize, I did find what my real dream was during it all. The same dreams were there, but I added Itachi's dreams to them as well. I know it sounds like I'm just following Itachi, but I truly do wish to fulfill those dreams."

Sasuke slowly nodded and walked back to his original guard position. Just as he did, three shadows landed on the other edge of the clearing. Each of them wore an Oto headband, two of them male and the third a female. The one in the center stepped up, his voice muffled by the bandages covering almost all of his face except one eye. "Sasuke Uchiha, we have come here to kill you. The rest of you may leave, or else be killed by us as well."

"You're kidding right? You do know you're outnumbered…" Sasuke paused, looking over his shoulder to count the number of his comrades ready to fight. "…Four to three, right?"

The second male, a scarf wrapped around his neck and his black hair standing up in a spiky mess, laughed and crossed his arms. "Yeah right, like one person will help you win! You must think you're real badass to think you can beat us!"

Sasuke growled and moved to pull out a kunai, but suddenly Hinote appeared in front of them, an almost ecstatic expression on her face. "Alright, now it's my turn to fight!" She turned to Uindo, her eyes shining with excitement. "I can kill them, right Uindo?"

Uindo could only chuckle at his sister's attitude. Running a hand through his hair, he turned and walked back to the fire and waved a hand dismissively. "Sure thing Hinote. I suppose it's only fair, since I got to deal with Orochimaru along with Naruto. Just try not to burn the whole forest down around us."

At Uindo's words the Oto shinobi tensed, fear slowly growing on their faces. "The blondes fought off Orochimaru-sama?" whispered the girl. The two boys looked between each other, and with a silent nod the bandaged one cautiously stepped up and pulled out a scroll. Setting it down, he said, "If your comrades have fought Orochimaru-sama…then the fact that even one still stands has made us reconsider. You are too strong for even us to beat at the moment. Please accept our scroll and let us leave in peace."

Sasuke, taking leadership for the moment, slowly nodded and watched as the Oto team turned tail and fled. He walked up to the scroll, cautious of any traps that might have been placed around it, but having found none he smirked and picked it up. When he returned to the others, he heard Hinote whine at the entrance. "Aww…I wanted to have some fun!"

Uindo laughed at his sisters antics and happily took the scroll from Sasuke.

XXXXX

The Kyuubi shifted slightly in his stance as he watched over the unconscious mental form of Naruto. His chakra had almost completely purged the poison from Naruto's body, and the boy was due to awaken any time now. But now, just as he thought he could relax, a strange itching had begun to agitate him. It was just behind where his shoulders would be if he still had a physical body, and it was somehow familiar to the demon. It also made him wonder, how was he able to feel when all he was made of was chakra?

As he finished and sent Naruto back into normal sleep, he suddenly remembered. It was a sort of sixth sense he had always had, one that only appeared whenever he was about to enter battle with a worthy opponent. It usually only appeared when he about to face one of his fellow biju, but the last time it had appeared was when he had battled against the Yondaime Hokage.

The itch grew and Kyuubi moved a few of his tails to scratch at it, even though he knew it wouldn't fade. Despite his agitation from the itch, he couldn't help but chuckle darkly in anticipation. **"You and I are about to have some real fun Kit…"**

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**Author's Note:** This is a revised edition of Chapter 3. I hope you enjoyed it! (Any previous Author Notes from revised chapters no longer exist)


	4. Chapter 4

"Normal Speech"

_-Thoughts-_

**"Demon Speech"**

**"Jutsu!"**

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Chapter 4: The Preliminary Rounds

Naruto and Sasuke's teams all safely arrived at the tower just as the sun began to set below the trees of the third day. A few teams had tried to attack them and claim their scrolls, but needless to say Hinote had her fun finally and the competition way quickly thinned out. Naruto awoke as they walked into the tower and Uindo explained all that he had missed out on while he was unconscious. With everyone now conscious and prepared, they had opened the scrolls and a chuunin appeared for each team to announce their successful passing of the second half of the exam.

The remaining days of the exam were simply to relax and prepare for the final part of the exam. During this time, a few more teams arrived and took up rooms in tower, all the way up to the final day. Now everyone had gathered within the main hall and was listening to the Hokage give a speech about the reason for the exams. Naruto however had already heard the story behind the exams from Itachi and instead scanned the competition to see who he would be up against. He raised one eyebrow in surprise when he finished. _–Interesting…Besides the Oto team, only Gaara's seems to have made it to the finals. And then there are the Konoha teams, which basically consist entirely of all of Sasuke's old classmates and one of last year's rookie team. That's odd…-_

"Unfortunately, due to the large number of participants who managed to pass this section of the exam, I'm afraid that a preliminary is needed." The Hokage explained. A few of the genin whispered to their teammates, but Sarutobi raised a hand and everyone became silent again. "I am sorry, but at least half of you will have to wait until the next time to pass. Now then, to the rules of these matches…"

A brief disturbance of the air in front of the Hokage was all that was felt before a sickly jonin appeared at his feet, bowing toward the Hokage. "Hokage-sama, please allow me, Hayate Gekko, the proctor of the next part of the exam, to explain." The Hokage nodded and Hayate turned and explained the screen and random line up of the names. With a wave of his hand all the genin turned to look at the screen above them. The words 'vs' were easily visible while names swirled above and below it before ending on two names.

Sasuke Uchiha vs Choji Akimichi

"Will the two contenders please stay on the floor while the remainder of you head to the balconies to watch and await your matches?" asked Hayate. The genin all slowly shuffled up to the balconies like asked as Choji and Sasuke stared at each other from across the room. Hayate coughed a few times into his hand before raising his hand. "Are both contestants ready?"

Choji and Sasuke nodded, and Hayate lowered his hand. "Then begin!"

Choji was the first to move, forming one hand sign. **"Baika no Jutsu!"** His stomached expanded, and after tucking in all of his arms and legs, he began rolling toward Sasuke. Sasuke jumped cleared and threw a few kunai, but the rolling motion of Choji's body easily deflected them. Choji turned and barreled straight at Sasuke, and yet again he was easily dodged.

Up in the balconies, Uindo merely sighed. "This will be quick, I feel sorry for Choji-san really."

"What do you mean Uindo?" asked Hinote. Not far from where the two were standing, Shikamaru glanced at Uindo and then smiled sadly at Choji as the fight continued on below.

"Choji's strong, his clans jutsu almost insure that right off the bat. But he's inexperienced, and he's making a terrible mistake. Look." Uindo pointed down at Choji, who was once again turning in his human boulder form to try and run Sasuke over. "He's only using one jutsu, over and over again. Plus it's not a really effective one too. That jutsu is mostly good for being used if the opponent is trapped or incapable of moving, which is why the Ino-Shika-Cho trio were so famous, because their family jutsu complimented each other. If Choji keeps this up…"

Back down on the floor, Choji was once again turning to attack, but he had overdone his last attack and was moving far too fast to turn quickly. Sasuke noticed this, and tensed for an opening. He didn't have to wait long. When Choji finally began moving again, Sasuke simply jumped over him and waited for the inevitable to happen. Just like last time, and every time before, Choji began spinning in the opposite direction to turn and attack. But unlike last time, he kept on moving and crashed into the wall. Stunned by the sudden halt, he wasn't able to move in time as Sasuke ran through hand signs and raised his fingers to his mouth.

"**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"**

Fire engulfed Choji and made the genin above the fire flinch away from the heat. Sasuke only kept the flames up for a few seconds, but it was enough. As the last flame dissipated, it revealed Choji back in his normal form, with several burn marks on his body. Hayate briefly looked at Choji before raising his hand. "Winner, Sasuke Uchiha!"

The medic-nin rushed in to treat the burns, and Sasuke said over his shoulder, "Don't worry, I only made the flames hot enough to knock him out. He should be able to recover in a week or less."

Uindo threw a congratulatory smile at Sasuke before turning to Hinote. "See? He was slowly tiring himself out by using it, and because of that he lost focus. It was inevitable that he would loose his traction and run right into the wall, especially since Sasuke was always so close to one whenever he moved out of the way."

Hinote smiled and turned to Sasuke, winking at him. Sasuke, having seen the wink, blushed slightly and walked past her. The names were once again being shuffled on the screen before landing on the next match.

Uindo vs Zaku

Uindo smiled and vanished in a swirl of leaves, reappearing on the floor below. Zaku merely jumped over the railing, scowling at Uindo from the other side. Hayate raised an eyebrow and raised his hand. "Are both :Cough: contestants ready?" Uindo and Zaku nodded. "Then begin!"

Zaku raised his arms, but Uindo suddenly held up his hand. "Wait." Zaku paused, and Uindo took the chance to remove his cloak. He threw it back up to the balcony, where Hinote easily caught it, and adjusted his now revealed clothes. He wore a short sleeve green shirt that buttoned up along the left side. The outer edges of the sleeves had a gold ring that went up through the middle of the sleeves, along the neck, and down the left side through the buttons. His pants were white and flared out at the bottom, with red flames licking the bottom of each leg. His shinobi sandals were brown and he wore a pair of brown fingerless gloves with a metal plate on top. On top of the metal plates rested the symbol of Kazegakure, three horizontal wavy lines atop each other. Along the right side of his waist rested a short sword with a razor edged hand guard in a brown sheath. The real strange thing though about his appearance was that he wore pouches to hold and tools or weapons in, just a strange seal that rested on the bottom on his shirt around the back.

Uindo rolled his shoulders and titled his head. "Ah, now that's better. That thing was starting to itch a little." He cracked his knuckles and placed his hands into his pocket. "Sorry about that, I just wanted to get it off before we fought. Might as well make you think I'm taking you serious."

Zaku growled and responded with a wall of wind that shot from the pipes in his arms. When the wind died down, it revealed Uindo in the same place he was standing in before, not a scratch on him. He smirked and started walking toward Zaku, who attacked yet again with his air blasts in hopes of hitting Uindo this time.

As the sounds of pressurized air being fired reverberated across the room, Naruto merely grumbled up in the balconies. "I thought we weren't going to show off yet Uindo…"

Sasuke heard this and walked up to Naruto. "Hey Naruto, how is he doing that? I mean, he'd not moving and those blasts are hitting him dead on, right?"

Naruto ignored Sasuke and simply lowered his voice as he kept on muttering about Uindo's actions. Sasuke was slowly becoming annoyed, but Hinote saved Naruto from a beat down as she walked up to Sasuke to explain. "You want to know how my brother is doing that right?" Sasuke nodded. "Well it's actually a jutsu he made himself, a really powerful one too if used right."

"A jutsu? What does it do?"

"Well…I didn't really listen to his explanation, but I'll tell you what I remember. You see, it's kinda like a mixture of genjutsu and high speed taijutsu. He first creates the illusion you see now, you know to distract the opponent and make it look like he's a tough opponent. Meanwhile, he's actually attacking Zaku and inflicting more and more damage as time passes. His jutsu will end when the illusion makes contact with Zaku, and when that happens all the damage Zaku took will suddenly come crashing home and reveal itself for all of us to see."

_-A genjutsu and taijutsu hybrid? Very impressive, but her explanation seems to be missing something…I wonder what. –_ thought Sasuke. He looked back down at the fight, and Uindo's illusion was only a few feet away from Zaku. Zaku was now freaking out and sent one last desperate blast of air at Uindo, this one several times bigger than the earlier ones. Because of his attack though, Zaku failed to notice when the illusion casually walked into him and disappeared. But he did notice when Uindo appeared back to back with him, his sword slowly being sheathed again. As Uindo walked away to head to the balcony, he said one word over his shoulder. **"Makaze!"**

Zaku collapsed seconds later, his entire body covered in cuts and his throat slit. Several of the rookies turned green as they realized that Uindo had killed the Oto-nin, but some of the smarter ones, Sasuke included, guessed that the blonde had a reason for killing him and merely turned away from the sight without loosing their stomach. Hayate poked Zaku's body with his foot before coughing and raising his hand. "Zaku is dead, therefore Uindo is the winner!"

When Uindo reached the top of the stairs, he yelled out in pain as Naruto hit him in the head with his fist. "What did I say about showing off Uindo?" asked Naruto. Uindo merely laughed nervously and rubbed the bump. "Sorry, I just couldn't help myself."

Sasuke smirked at the two before looking back at the screen. The names shuffled through each other once more before settling on the next match,

Shikamaru Nara vs. Kin

The match was very disappointing, for the Oto kunoichi at least. Kin used a series of bells and senbon needles, which used genjutsu to confuse Shikamaru's senses in hopes of catching him off guard. Unfortunately that was all of her secrets it seemed, and Shikamaru wasn't a genius for nothing. He used the very wires she used to manipulate the bells and caught her in his shadow within seconds of the start of her attack. From there he simple psyched her out and knocked her out against the wall.

As her unconscious body was dragged out, Hayate coughed and declared Shikamaru the winner, while everyone else looked up at the screen to see who would be next to fight.

Hinote vs. Ino Yamanaka

Hinote smirked, making many who saw it shiver. In a flash of fire she appeared on the floor, her cloak unbuttoned but still around her. Ino gulped and slowly walked down the stairs and moved to stand across from Hinote on the other side. Hayate raised his hand, but Hinote interrupted what he was about to say by throwing her cloak off and tossing it back to Uindo up on the balcony. She wore a similar shirt like what Uindo wore, including the strange seal on the back that seemed to replace all the normal pouches, but hers had long sleeves that went past and covered her hands, and the main color was red instead of green. Her black pants were slightly loose to allow free movements without becoming cumbersome, and white bandages tied off the bottom from below her knees all the way to around her feet. Her feet were only covered except for the toes in bandages with no sandals on them. Sasuke blushed as he looked over Hinote's figure, which was shown very nicely in her clothes. She had slim features all around, no doubt from plenty of training and good eating habits, but her chest was so big that it actually pushed her shirt open at the top and revealed a little of the fish net undershirt she wore. Sasuke thanked his high level of self-control from stopping a nosebleed he had felt coming, but his stubbornness made him wonder why he even wanted to have a nosebleed in the first place.

Hayate titled his head and waited to see if Hinote was going to do anything else. "Are both contestants ready?" Hinote rolled up her left sleeve, revealing a metal armguard like what a samurai might wear. Etched onto the top of it above her hand rested the symbol of Kazegakure. She moved her arm and placed it against her stomach, her palm aimed at her right hand. She also moved her right arm, but she didn't roll the sleeve up on it, and placed it behind her back. Ino merely shifted into the standard academy taijutsu stance and glared at Hinote.

Hayate nodded at their actions and raised his hand. "Then begin!"

Ino was the first to move, opening up her shuriken pouch and letting a few of them fly. Hinote didn't move as they closed in, but a smile did creep up her face. As the shuriken neared their target, the sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air, and the shuriken were suddenly on the ground at Hinote's feet. In Hinote's right hand, which she had moved out from behind her, she held a large scimitar with flames running down the length of the blade. It had no hand guard, but a small black tassel hung at the bottom of the handle. She also apparently wore an identical armguard on this hand like her left, which was now visible since her sleeves had fallen back from her movement.

Hinote's smile became sadistic, and she pulled the sleeve back down over her left hand. A small cloud of smoke shot out from within the sleeve, and suddenly a second scimitar was in her left hand too. As Ino paled at the sight of the two weapons, Hinote charged and raised both swords above her head.

In the balconies, Uindo raised an eyebrow and looked at Naruto. "No showing off huh? What's Hinote doing then?"

Naruto grunted and leaned against the railing. "She's your sister Uindo. Can you honestly say she wouldn't show off, even if I told her not to?"

Uindo sighed and rolled his eyes. Back on the floor, Hinote was pushing Ino back who was defending herself with two kunai. It was barely holding her off however, since Hinote's blades seemed to be slowly chipping away at the kunai. Hinote moved again to attack, but this time as she attacked, her blades suddenly vanished! Her arms kept moving however, and as they passed Ino's raised kunai, another cloud of smoke signaled the return of her scimitars, now inside Ino's defense. Ino jumped away, two long bloody gashes along her stomach that were luckily very shallow.

"What the hell was that?" asked Sasuke.

"Hinote has a seal in each sleeve, which is where she keeps her swords while not fighting. This little trick of hers is also very useful in fighting, since she can instantly summon and de-summon them in the blink of an eye and do what she just did to Ino's defense." Uindo explained. Sasuke silently nodded in understanding and looked back down at the fight.

At the moment the two kunoichi had backed off from each other, and Ino was desperately figuring out how she could capture Hinote in her jutsu. She never got a chance, as Hinote smirked and tapped the seal on her shirt. A handful of shuriken appeared from it in a cloud of smoke, and Hinote threw them all at Ino. Ino deflected and dodged them all, but when she looked up to where Hinote was she found no one there. A growing heat on her back, along with a slim arm that wrapped around her neck, revealed Hinote's location.

"This attack will end your shinobi career if you don't forfeit Ino-san." whispered Hinote. Ino didn't hesitate to say, "Proctor! I forfeit."

Hayate nodded and raised his hand. "Winner, Hinote!" As Hinote stepped away from Ino, Sasuke noticed her hand encased in black and white flames, before she de-activated the jutsu and the flames vanished. He turned to Uindo, who was congratulating Hinote who had just appeared in her signature flame shunshin, and coughed to get his attention. "What was that jutsu back there? I've never seen a Katon jutsu with black flames before."

Hinote smirked and Uindo merely laughed. Naruto, seeing his rival become agitated, decided to explain it for him. "That's one of her original jutsu like what Uindo used in his fight. She calls it the Gouka Tenohira. Apparently, from what she's told me, she came up with it when she saw Itachi-sensei use Amaterasu. She even claims the flames are just as hot as the one in Amaterasu, but I haven't seen her use it yet so I doubt it's true." Sasuke looked over at Hinote in shock. _–A jutsu just as powerful as Amaterasu, a move my brother can use? If it's true, then… -_

"Don't think I don't see that look in your eye Sasuke." Sasuke jumped slightly when Hinote walked up to him crossed her arms. "Sorry but the Gouka Tenohira is something you can't use. It's something only somebody like me could use, and you're not one of them." Sasuke was curious as to what she meant, but all of his thoughts vanished when she leaned forward slightly and looked right into his eyes, giving Sasuke a pleasant view down the opening in her shirt. "But if you want I can still teach you the basics of the jutsu and help you make your own jutsu from it…"

"T-Thanks Hinote…" muttered Sasuke, a blush desperately trying to appear on his face. Luckily he was saved as another pair of names flashed onto the screen.

Kankuro vs. Dosu

The fight was impressive, but short all the same. Dosu started off by charging and almost landing a blow right on Kankuro's face, but a slight shift allowed the punch to fly right by the side of his face. Kankuro smirked, pulling back one fist to punch Dosu in the stomach, but suddenly the side of his face where the punch flew passed shattered and revealed the puppet underneath the disguise. Dosu, caught by the sudden transformation, was caught immediately by several wooden arms that shot out from the sides of Kankuro's stomach and wrapped themselves around Dosu. Kankuro revealed himself from inside the bandaged package on his puppets back, and with a pull of several chakra strings he squeezed Dosu until he almost broke the Oto-nin's back. Almost, because Kankuro suddenly pulled back at the last minute and simply knocked Dosu out with a well placed chop to the neck.

As the medics carried the unconscious Dosu out, Naruto and his teammates shared a glance between themselves and did no more. The screen moved through the few remaining names and landed on another pair.

Temari vs. Tenten

Tenten was a skilled weapon mistress, but with her poorly mismatched opponent she stood no chance. No matter what weapon or trick she used, Temari simply deflected it with her wind and giant fan. In the end, Tenten tried with one last jutsu, an impressive mass summoning of her weapon arsenal in the form of two clouds in the shape of dragons, but Temari merely blew them all away and then blew Tenten away. As Temari ruthlessly threw Tenten off of her fan, the board was already moving to choose the next match.

Neji Hyuuga vs. Hinata Hyuuga

Neji was cold and ruthless. He first started off by using psychological tactics to scare her even more than she already was, and then when that failed, due in most part to Sasuke and Kiba's cheering, he simply beat her down. Hinata was no fighter though, since she'd turned to medic-nin training, and was thoroughly trashed. As Hinata collapsed behind him and Hayate declared him the winner, an arrogant smirk appeared on his face as he proclaimed something about it all having been fate's decision.

Naruto and Uindo shared similar thoughts. _–If I fight Neji, he's going down, HARD. –_ The next match however calmed them down slightly.

Kiba Inuzuka vs. Rock Lee

Kiba and Akamaru were very skilled in their families' jutsu and teamwork tactics. They moved around the arena, constantly moving and trying to drill right into Lee. But all their efforts were in vain, since Lee was simply too fast for them to hit. It was made even funnier when Lee sometimes started shouted about 'Flames of Youth' and other various things. It all ended when Lee stood still for once and simply punched the two in the face when they closed in. Kiba and Akamaru collapsed from the strength of his punches and Lee's sensei rushed down to congratulate Lee's victory.

Uindo and Naruto chuckled nervously as they watched the hilarious hugging scene the two made, although they did wonder why the genjutsu that appeared behind them was seemingly unbreakable. But their humor quickly turned to dread as they realized who was left to fight. "Naruto…" began Uindo, only for Naruto to raise a hand to stop him.

"Don't worry Uindo, I'll be fine. I know we had hoped to leave this alone until the third part of the exam, but it seems luck wasn't on my side this time." said Naruto.

Uindo slowly nodded and the two looked up at the board. Down below, Hayate said, "Now, for the final match of the preliminaries. Will both contestants please come down to the floor?"

Naruto Uzumaki vs. Sabaku no Gaara

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**Author's Note:** This is a revised edition of Chapter 4. I hope you enjoyed it! (Any previous Author Notes from revised chapters no longer exist)


	5. Chapter 5

"Normal Speech"

_-Thoughts-_

**"Demon Speech"**

**"Jutsu!"**

XXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 5: Naruto Uzumaki vs. Sabaku no Gaara

Naruto and Gaara slowly walked to the center of the room and stood opposite each other. Hayate glanced between the two, noticing nervousness in Naruto and the same emotionless air from Gaara that had been there seemingly the entire time. "Are both contestants :Cough: ready?" Naruto and Gaara nodded, not taking their eyes off the other. "Then begin!"

In seconds Gaara's attitude did a complete turn about, killing intent pouring from the red head with seemingly no end. Naruto countered with his own, if only to keep Gaara's from affecting the people watching. They made no other move, just continuously building their killing intent and staring at the other. A bead of sweat ran down Uindo's forehead as it reached a level that could no longer be shielded from everyone else in the room. _–Damn, to think Naruto has to fight Gaara so early. I know it was inevitable, since nobody besides us could really take on the full power of the Shukaku, but still… -_ Glancing around room, Uindo took note of the others around him. _–And because of everyone in here, plus the fact we're in Konoha, Naruto can't go all out. And to win he'll definitely need to… -_

"Mother wants your blood…" muttered Gaara, his eyes moving rapidly in that brief moment he had spoken. Hearing the red head's words, Naruto and Uindo both recalled the meeting with Itachi before leaving for Konoha.

Flashback

The sounds of the outside world echoed within the meetings chamber of Akatsuki. The pounding of hammers and the drone of saws went along with the various shouts of people who worked to rebuild Kazegakure from events only a few months prior. Itachi smiled slightly behind the high collar of his Akatsuki cloak as he listened to the shouts, but quickly he schooled his face and looked down at Uindo and Naruto, both of whom were standing in the audience circle in the center of the room. Behind them, nine chairs stood elevated around the room in a semi circle, and Itachi's seat sat opposite of them and above them all. Itachi cleared his throat and leaned back slightly, the candles in the chamber reflecting on the small ring on his right thumb that had the kanji for 'Zero' on it.

"Naruto-kun, Uindo, your mission is to head to Konoha and partake in the chuunin exam." said Itachi, his voice warm but strict like usual. "In addition, there are several other key goals that you will deal with there, but the main one, besides passing the exams that is, is to obtain an alliance with them."

"Ally with Konoha? Don't you and Naruto have bad history with them?" asked Uindo.

Itachi nodded. "We do, but that doesn't matter anymore. They are a powerful village, and we need powerful allies. As you know, in order to complete our plans we must have strong allies."

Naruto nodded. "Okay Itachi-sensei. Is there anything else?"

"Yes actually. There will be more details in the envelopes that the mission office will hand to you after this, but I will explain them a little right now." Itachi cleared his throat and closed his eyes. "Orochimaru has begun moving recently toward Konoha, and I'm afraid he's after something besides the destruction of it. If my hunch is correct, then my little brother is in danger. I want you to keep an eye out for any attacks on Sasuke from the Hebi, and if the opportunity should arise, kill him. Also, the Kazekage of Sunagakure is letting his son Gaara, the container of Shukaku, to participate this year with his team. Your mission is also to approach him and offer him a home here in our growing village. As Akatsuki, it is our mission to capture the roaming Biju and offer a home to those that society has rejected because they hold demons within them."

Naruto and Uindo nodded, turning to the door to leave. "Hold on." The two blondes turned to look back at Itachi. "I wasn't done yet…" A large sweat drop formed on their heads as they smiled sheepishly. Itachi allowed a brief laugh before turning serious again.

"Gaara unfortunately is, to put it bluntly, the worse case scenario for what jinchuriki could become. He kills for the sake of feeling alive and befriends nobody, not even his own siblings. When he was younger, his father would constantly try to assassinate him, and because of this he has lost most of his sanity. Reports have him talking to his sand and sometimes calling it 'Mother' when in severe cases of mental breakdown. If that wasn't bad enough, his seal is reported to have been purposefully done wrong so that he could wield Shukaku's powers more easily, and as such Shukaku has a strong hold on his mind. He does not even allow Gaara to sleep or else he shall eat away at his mind."

Naruto leaned his head to the side as if listening to something and his eyes became dull, a clear sign that he was talking with Kyuubi. "Kyuubi says that Shukaku was a bit of a drinker and loved to fight, but even so he's never been one to mess with humans like that." He paused, no doubt hearing something else from the fox. "He also says that it's probably caused by the seal and the priest that sealed himself in with Shukaku. Something about the intertwining of two souls from different species, but I don't really understand it."

Itachi nodded and rubbed his chin in thought. "Interesting…very well then, I will have some research be done in hopes of finding a way to fix Gaara's seal. If an opportunity arises, mention that to him. It might greatly influence his decision in joining us, and if any remedies be found in Konoha do not fail to take it as well."

Naruto and Uindo nodded, but as they left Itachi gave one final warning. "Naruto, Uindo, please be careful. Gaara's more likely to fight and kill you then listen to anything you might say at first. If you are forced to fight him, make sure that nobody is nearby. It wouldn't do for people to be killed in the cross-fire."

End Flashback

Uindo tightened his grip on the railing and leaned forward slightly. _–And Naruto said he wanted to fight Gaara alone too, and I'm definitely not the kind of person to interfere with another's fight. –_ "Damn…"

Hinote, hearing the quiet curse and obvious tense attitude, placed her hand on her brother's shoulder. "Calm down Uindo, you know Naruto can handle this by himself, even with the limits he has at the moment." Uindo looked at Hinote and the two locked eyes with each other for a moment, their eyes flashing green and red at times. Uindo then smiled and released his grip on the railing. "Yeah, I suppose you're right Hinote. Now let's watch shall we? It's not every day two jinchuriki fight."

XXXXX

"Uzumaki…tell me why." Naruto blinked at the sudden and strange question from Gaara. "Why…why does mother scream for your blood, and yet cry to flee at the same time?"

Naruto stayed silent, his blue eyes staring into Gaara's. A small popping sound rang out when the cork on Gaara's gourd shot off and sand began to pour out. It wrapped around Gaara's feet, and thin tendrils of it slowly slithered across the ground toward Naruto. Gaara's eyes narrowed and the sand spiked around him. "I asked you a question Uzumaki."

"Before we begin, tell me Gaara, who are you? Who is the real master of that body?"

Gaara remained silent, but his sand was all the answer he needed. It froze for a moment before sending out even more tendrils of sand, these easily twice the size of the ones from earlier. They slowly crept closer to Naruto, but Naruto's next words made it stop again. "Is it Sabaku no Gaara…or is it Shukaku?"

Gaara's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he had to close them when Shukaku's scream began to overwhelm his mind. He screamed in pain, clutching his head while the sand retreated to surround Gaara more. Naruto, not letting the brief lapse in Gaara's attention, removed his cloak and threw it back toward the balcony, where Sasuke caught it with a scowl. Naruto's clothes were an exact replica of Uindo, but instead of green on the shirt there was orange, and the gloves and sandals were black. The handle of a sword stuck out above his left shoulder and rested diagonally across his back. The sheath was silver with a golden fox running up the length of it. The handle and hand guard were black with nine red tassels on the bottom.

Naruto adjusted the hand band on his head and crossed his arms, but the slight tense movements showed he was fully prepared to move. "Gaara…" Gaara looked up, and flinched when he saw the now slit red eyes that Naruto now had. "We're the same, you and I."

Gaara felt Shukaku's mad ravings increase at the sight of the eyes, and they only increased as Naruto walked closer, his voice being focused by a genjutsu so that only Gaara could hear him. "A long time ago…I lived in a different village than where I do today. In fact…I lived in Konoha here." Naruto waved a hand toward the gathered Konoha shinobi, earning many confused glances from them. "When I lived here, I was beaten, starved, cursed, and I was almost killed several times too. And you went through a lot of similar things too, right?" Several scenes of the various assassination attempts flashed through Gaara's mind, and he slowly nodded ever so slightly.

"I've gotta admit…" Naruto's laugh was empty and hollow, a not so forgotten pain in his voice. "We would probably be exactly the same, if I hadn't found my precious people when I did. First it was the old man Hokage, then it was this really nice ramen chef and his daughter who were my basic source of food in the entire village." Naruto paused, the sand only inches from him and Gaara only a few or so away behind it. His eyes returned back to their normal blue, and a sad smile was on his face. "And then, I met the man who changed my life forever. He trained me, talked with me, he even ate ramen with me, and he took me out of this village and changed my life forever. He is perhaps the most important person in my life, and the same could be said for me I suppose in his life. In fact, when his own best friend tried to kill me, he stepped in and killed him, just to save me." A pained look crossed Naruto's face as he glanced at Sasuke up in the balcony. "After that he found his own clan was going to try and kill me. Can you imagine what he felt at that? His own father tried to kill him when he tried to protect me. That very night, an entire clan beside him and his brother died, all to save me. He took me away from here and raised me, helped me grow into who I am today. It was on the first night after leaving that I also learned of my burden. When I learned of it, when I met it, I vowed to protect everyone I hold dear from it. And I also silently vowed to never let myself turn into a monster like these villagers used to see me as."

"…" Gaara slowly pushed the sand back and allowed Naruto to walk closer to him. He didn't know why he ignored the screams of his 'mother', but something inside of him, besides the demon, told him to let Naruto approach and say what he had to say.

"What did they do to you Gaara, what made you who you are?"

A brief flash of emotions came over Gaara as he crossed his arms and thought back to all the past years of his life. Two of them he recognized, after all sadness and anger were common in his life. But another one, hidden under the rest of them, was unfamiliar to him. It made him feel…human, not a demon like he had come to believe he was. As he spoke, Shukaku started trying to break through Gaara's control of his own body and take action itself. "Every since I was born, my life had been a hell unlike anything you could imagine. My father told the people about my burden, and because of that I was feared and hated for all of my life. My father wanted me to become the ultimate weapon for our village, but when I became too strong, he decided to end my life. The very first assassin…" Naruto noticed the slight drop in his voice at that part. "Uzumaki…I once held someone in a similar fashion to your 'precious people'. But he…betrayed me. He was my first real assassination attempt, and when I learned of his reasons I realized one thing." Gaara placed a hand over the kanji on his head. "Kindness, happiness, love…all these things are merely words. I realized that there is only love for myself and no one else. I live to kill everyone who isn't me, to prove my existence in this world I live in. I will never stop until I am the last…and then I will be no more, and I will be happy at last."

Naruto was silent, and around them the room was also silent. Although no one heard what Naruto had said thanks to the genjutsu, what they'd heard from Gaara made up for it. Temari and Kankuro especially looked down at Gaara in a new light, although for Temari it only strengthened her resolve to get closer to her estranged little brother. Naruto nodded, although for why no one understood. He slowly stepped back, letting the sand surround Gaara completely again. "Well then Gaara…at the moment, I can only pity you it seems."

The sand shot out faster than anyone could track it, slamming Naruto into the wall behind him and tightening its grip on him until the audible snapping of ribs could be heard. Naruto gasped in pain, but the sand began to cover his face and he was forced to hold his breath instead. "PITY?!" screamed Gaara. His eyes were moving rapidly, and they seemed to shift between their normal green, to yellow with a strange black star and dots around the sides. The sand rose up in waves around him, sometimes forming the shape of claws or teeth. "Prey does not pity the predator! You will die Uzumaki, and my sand will taste your blood! Mother will be happy again!"

Naruto sighed, and his clone exploded, sending the sand that was crushing it all over the room. The real Naruto dropped down from the ceiling, along with several clones at his side. _–There's no avoiding a fight now. Shukaku's starting to crush Gaara's psyche and is taking control. I just hope this won't end up as a summon…err, a demon fight. –_ As the clones charged and the sand lashed out, the battle between jinchuriki began.

XXXXX

The sound of reconstruction echoed across Kazegakure as its citizens worked hard to repair all that had been destroyed. In one of the few original buildings, Itachi silently worked on the mounds of paperwork that came from the massive construction jobs and other various odds and ends that plagued the village. Behind him, the massive shadow of his personal ANBU guard waited silently with his arms crossed over his bare chest. He shifted his shoulders slightly, making the massive sword on his back hit the wall behind him with the end of its blade. When Itachi finished a particularly large stack of papers, he finally gave in to boredom and simply made a few Kage Bunshin to finish the remainder of the papers.

The clones quickly went to work as Itachi walked out to the balcony, his guard following behind him. A cool breeze blew the midday mist away for a moment, revealing the large village below him, before it moved in again to fill the empty space. "A beautiful day, despite the mist too." muttered Itachi. He received no response from his companion, but he knew that there would be none. "Tell me, is there any news as to Naruto-kun's progress within the exams?"

The guard grunted before responding, his voice muffled by the bandages wrapped around his face. "The brat and his team have passed the first half of the exam, and if our informant is correct then they should just be finishing the second half too. Apparently it was inside the Forest of Death by the way." He walked closer to Itachi and looked across at him. "I don't see why you wanted a status report on the brat's progress. He's way too strong to be taken down by any genin, or any chuunin too for that matter."

Itachi smiled. "That is true. Naruto-kun could easily take care of any opposition, should he go all out with Kyuubi aiding him. But in case you forgot, that cannot be the case, so long as he remains within Konoha. With Gaara-san participating in the exams as well and with the odds of Orochimaru appearing…"

His words died off as the mist thickened on one end of the balcony. The air grew cold, and a mirror made of ice formed in the air. A figure clad in regulation ANBU armor stepped out of it, before it shattered and the mist returned to its normal density. The figure was clearly female, as the tight armor easily showed off the impressive curves of her body. She reached up and removed her tiger mask, a small ring on her right middle finger glinting slightly in the mist shrouded sunlight. On it, the kanji for 'Byakko' could be clearly seen on it.

"Itachi-san, Zabuza-san, our informant in Konoha has just sent disturbing news." She said. Itachi frowned, a slight bit of worry growing within him. "What did he report Haku-chan?"

"There has been a confirmed sighting of Orochimaru within the Chuunin Exams, specifically during the second half within the Forest of Death. Apparently he tried to mark your brother, but was stopped by another shinobi." Haku paused, her lower lip being bitten down on in a show of worry. "I believe that I was Naruto-kun who stopped Orochimaru in succeeding."

"But that's not all, is there?" asked Zabuza. Haku nodded. "Yes. In addition, our trackers managed to retrace Orochimaru's recent movements prior to the exams, and we have come across a body. What's worse, it appears to be the Kazekage." Again Haku paused, fearful of what her next words might mean. "I fear that Suna is being used by Oto and Orochimaru in an invasion against Konoha, if recent movements within the Oto-nin ranks indicate anything."

"Hmm…" Itachi turned back to look over the village. "My brother, the murder of the Kazekage, a possible invasion…" A dark laugh escaped his lips, a sure signs of things not ending well for someone. "It seems the Hebi is planning many things that I…we do not approve of. What do you suggest we do about that, Zabuza, Haku-chan?"

Zabuza and Haku exchanged a brief glance, before Zabuza grinned under his bandages and the air around Haku grew cold. "What do you think we do? We go kill ourselves a snake!" Haku nodded her agreement, and Itachi clapped his hands together.

"Very well then! Haku-chan, please prepare a small force of shinobi to go with us. Make sure they are ready to go by this evening, and be sure to mention I intend to reach Konoha within the month as quickly as possible."

As Haku bowed and left, Itachi slowly walked back into the office to prepare himself for travel as well. _–I can only hope the winds will favor us, and the weather will not try to stand in our way… -_

XXXXX

Another thunderous roar echoed across the room as the combined force of sand and exploding clones clashed down on the main floor. Naruto ducked and weaved around the endless attacks of sand, occasionally sending another batch of clones toward Gaara. All of his clones however proved pointless, since the sand would simply halt their attacks, crush them, or just simply absorb the explosion of one that managed to get even remotely close to Gaara. The fight was on one level a very one sided fight, with the clear advantage belonging to Gaara. But to those who could see the underneath, all they saw was a warm up for the blonde.

A tendril of sand slammed against Naruto's shoulder, sending him spinning and rolling across the ground. He barely recovered in time to avoid a second tendril as it tried to wrap itself around his leg. _–Kage Bunshin and Taijutsu are a pointless combination against Gaara. –_ thought Naruto. _–Well maybe the clones are useful, but only if they explode anywhere close to Gaara. –_ The sand rose around Gaara, before launching several smaller shuriken shaped blasts of sand at Naruto. Having been distracted by several of the tendrils, Naruto received the new sand attack straight in the chest, sending him flying back.

"Damn…" muttered Naruto. He shakily stood with a small grimace on his face as he realized that Kyuubi's chakra had to reset several ribs from the powerful blunt attack. _–This level of skill won't be enough to beat him. I guess I'll have to pull out my jutsu arsenal more then. –_

Forming several hand signs, Naruto punched the ground with both fists. **"Raiton: Banrai!"**

A loud clap of thunder echoed in the room, before suddenly the ground in front of Naruto split open and two giant pillars of lightning tore the ground apart as they raced at Gaara. They crashed straight into the wall of sand that rose to defend its master, and then right through it as if it was nothing. When the two bolts cross, a powerful light and explosion blinded and deafened many in the room. Naruto however was scanning the room, nervous as to whether or not Gaara had escaped the jutsu. His answer came when a voice called out behind him.

"**Sabaku Kyu!"**

Naruto cried out in pain as the crushing force of the sand enveloped him, but his cries of pain suddenly died as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Gaara panted, the cries of 'mother' becoming almost too much for him to bear for much longer while not possessed. He scanned the room like Naruto had done, and easily spotted five blondes standing across from him.

"**Katon: Karyuu Endan!"** shouted the blondes, a powerful stream of flames shooting from their mouths. Gaara quickly formed a protective wall of sand, but the intense heat of the combined flame throwers quickly began to melt the sand and turn it into glass, and then into simply molten glass. As one flamethrower finally pierced Gaara's defense, what it struck was not Gaara, but a sand clone that had barely been made in time.

_-Again he hides. What's going on, I thought Gaara would be trying to kill me more or something? –_

"**I think I know what's happening Kit, but I won't know for sure until Shukaku comes to the surface completely."** said the Kyuubi in response to Naruto's thoughts.** "Right now though, I think you should be seeking high ground."**

"Huh?" Naruto looked around, and spotted Gaara standing in front of the large statue that stood along one end of the room. The problem was, Gaara was running through several hand signs, and the statue groaned as bits and pieces of it and the nearby floor was slowly crushed by sand. _–SHIT! He's converting all the minerals in the floor and statue into sand! –_

Before Naruto could stop him, Gaara grinned with unrestrained bloodlust and insanity as he stopped on the final hand sign. **"Ryusa Bakuryu!"**

XXXXX

Sand poured from the doorway and windows of the tower as the two combatants within it continued to clash. The wood of the tower groaned and bulged outward, the massive amounts of sand slowly pushing the wood past its weight capacity. Even now the weaker sections of the walls leaked sand, although they were mere trickles in comparison to the waterfalls of sand that flowed from the windows or seeped out from the entrance.

The few shinobi who had been in the tower moments before breathed a dark sigh of relief as they though back to how close they all had been to being trapped within the miniature desert of sand that now filled the tower. Sarutobi, fearful of what might come of the battle, quickly ordered the jonin to direct themselves and their students out of the forest and away from the tower. In the end, only the Sandaime, Hayate, Sasuke, Uindo, and Hinote remained behind to wait for the outcome of the battle.

"Amazing, to think Naruto's battle had become so…" Sasuke fished for the correct word to use, but found none. "Is this the power of a jinchuriki?"

Sarutobi pulled out his pipe, lighting it and taking a moment to sooth his nerves with the tobacco. "Indeed Sasuke-kun, but consider this. If this is just the power of the weakest Biju, the Ichibi Shukaku, imagine what Naruto-kun could do." A sad smile was slightly hidden by his pipe. "I think I finally understand again why my people feared and hated Naruto when he still lived here, and now I truly realize how foolish we were to drive him away."

"Gaara's made a lot of sand…No doubt Shukaku is pushing this fight, and his own strength, to the limit to beat Naruto." Uindo said. He tilted his head, a smug smile on his face. "Too bad he's still outmatched by Naruto."

"Naruto-kun's always getting the best opponents! Why can't I fight someone strong like Gaara?" whined Hinote, a cute pout on her face.

Sarutobi chuckled. "My, my, my…such confidence in your comrade. I'm glad Naruto has found people such as you."

Sasuke stared in disbelief at the two, not to mention the Hokage. "How can you two be so…confident? I mean, Naruto…"

Uindo raised a hand and Sasuke became silent. "Sasuke, you don't seem to know Naruto fully yet. He actually loves fights like this, ones that push his skills to the max. In a weird twist, this in fact is one of his happiest I bet because of two reasons. The first is that he's fighting a fellow jinchuriki, which means Kyuubi's love of fighting his fellow Biju is rising to the surface and influencing his actions. Don't worry though, this won't affect him badly."

"And what's the second reason?"

"He can't fight all out, which means he has to think every move out to the fullest in order to win with the least collateral damage. The only time he even had to do this, even when going full out, was when he was fighting the original Leader of Akatsuki with Itachi."

Sasuke felt there was something else to Uindo's words, besides the indeed obvious collateral damage that might occur if Naruto were to go full out, but he never got to think more about it as Hinote spoke up. "My brother's right Sasuke. So just relax will ya? Enjoy the show, or at least what we can see of it."

Sasuke reluctantly nodded and turned back to look at the tower. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Hinote had a stick of dango in her mouth, with three more held between her fingers. She quickly gulped them all down, and then produced even more of them while he was not paying attention. _–Where the hell is she keeping those things? –_ thought Sasuke. A sweatdrop formed atop his head and a blush crept up on his cheeks as a rogue thought crossed his mind. _–Maybe I shouldn't think about that…Damn Kakashi and his perverted little book. -_

XXXXX

Inside the tower, Naruto and Gaara stood across from each other again, neither moving as they waited for Gaara's last attack to stabilize slightly. The room had changed completely from what it looked like when they had begun. Sand was the only floor, wall, and even ceiling in the entire room. The walls resembled waterfalls, and the sand above them resembled storm clouds that let loose a blanket of dry rain. Two or three whirlpools stood out on the sand floor, obvious signs of holes where the sand drained out into the forest outside the tower.

Gaara's eyes still trembled, but now they were only Shukaku's demonic yellow eyes. He smiled, and his killing intent grew a little more as his insanity deepened with Shukaku's increased control. "Such power, I will love tasting your blood soon Uzumaki! I'm sure mother will be pleased with me after I kill you, oh yes…She will be most pleased!" He raised a hand, sand slowly rising up and running along his fingers and palm. "Tell me Uzumaki, is your blood sweet?"

Naruto smirked, totally unfazed by Gaara's crazed words. "Sorry, but I prefer spilling others blood, not mine. But why don't you come over here and see for yourself. If you can that is."

"VERY WELL!"

The sand pulsed, and suddenly it engulfed Gaara within a sphere of sand. Naruto waited, knowing full well what was coming. He had been hoping this moment would come, so that he would be able to fight Gaara at full power, even if he could not use all of his power. The sphere shrunk, and began to take the shape of a demon. Massive claws and a powerful tail stood out as the most menacing features of Gaara's possessed form. His mouth had stretched to nearly twice the length of his normal mouth, and the combined image of drool and sharp fangs made him look ready to render flesh with his mouth alone. Two dark wells with a tiny yellow orb made up his eyes, with a strange black diamond and black spots making his iris. To finish the touch of his Shukaku form, blue vein like tattoos ran all along his body.

_-So this is Shukaku's true form…at least, when a human wields it. –_ Naruto frowned as Gaara's tail slammed into the ground, creating a deep crater in the sand before it filled up. Not wanting to waste any more time, he did the necessary hand signs and placed his fingers of his mouth. **"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!"** Several fireballs shot toward Gaara, only to be engulfed by sand with only a slight hiss as they died off. Gaara waved one hand, and the shuriken that had been concealed within the fires were sent back at Naruto, even faster than when they had been first launched.

The clone was easily destroyed by its own weapons, and Gaara grinned as he slammed one of his massive claws into the nearby wall, dragging Naruto out of the sand waterfall. "DIE!" Gaara crushed Naruto's neck, and the log splintered into thousands of pieces. Five new Naruto's shot out from the sand around him, and the tail lashed out to meet each of them. Naruto's dived down from the sand clouds above, each with a kunai and explosive tag in hand. Gaara inhaled, and dozens of mouths opened all over his body. **"Futon: Mugen Sajin Daitoppa!"**

The great blasts of sand filled winds blew the clones into oblivion, even creating a temporary crater around him in the sand. He screamed in joy, but it turned to one of pain as a clone grabbed him from behind and detonated. Naruto, perhaps a clone or the real deal, rose up from the sand and cracked his neck. "Damn sand…" he muttered. "It's dampening every attack I use." The sand that formed Gaara's demonic back slowly reformed and Gaara turned, his eyes glowing with rage, and something else.

_-It's time to step this up again…-_ Carefully, Naruto removed his sword and sheath from his back, and placed it along the left side of his waist. He gauged Gaara's demon chakra output, and then he channeled his and the Kyuubi's chakra into the blade. A clicking sound rang out into the room, loud enough to be heard over the rushing sands, and the fox on the sheath glowed. Naruto tensed, crouching slightly to prepare his attack. Gaara himself paid no mind to this preparation, and he charged straight in, both claws raised and his tail poised for a second attack. He barely registered the flash of yellow that shrouded Naruto, before the blonde vanished from his view. He stopped, confused, and then the sound of chains rattling met his ears.

He slowly turned his head, following the louder source of the strange chain noise. What he saw was unlike anything he'd seen before. Five strange chain whips that resembled the broken pieces of a sword moved lazily besides him, a powerful looking aura of blue and red chakra supporting them in mid-air. They moved around in a hypnotic manner, making Gaara shudder as the image of tails overlapped them. Looking on the other side of him, four more chains moved as well, and the total number of nine made a cold feeling grow within his stomach.

"Meet my sword…" said Naruto. Gaara turned, following the chains all the way to the handle that Naruto still held in his hand that guided the chains. Naruto looked over his shoulder, locking one single red slit eye with Gaara's two yellow diamond ones. "The only chain-whip sword in existence, and made especially for me and my furry friend. Say hello…to the Kyuubi."

Gaara screamed, the dread that had filled him moments ago now gone again. He turned and charged, and Naruto simply muttered one word.

"**Inabikari!"**

The chains froze, and in one fluid movement they retracted back toward the hilt, forming the shape of the original sword again. Adorned on the blade was another fox, but this one was silver and blended in with the blades color, making it nearly impossible to see without the chakra that was around it. As the final piece clicked back into place, Naruto sheathed the sword. When hilt met sheath, Gaara's demonic body exploded in a shower of sand, revealing the true Gaara underneath, still suspended in mid air from his attack. He barely registered his own shock before Naruto turned and punched Gaara right in the face. The red head tumbled back, the sand softening his roll.

"That my friend, was my greatest speed attack." said Naruto, using his little explanation to give Gaara enough time to recover. "Shunshin is good, but nobody ever did seem to think about using it for attacking. Everyone I saw use it was just for moving from one place to another, nothing more. That is, until me and the Yondaime Hokage came around. Speed, ninjutsu, taijutsu, and finally a little dab of genjutsu make it all up. It's the ultimate combination of every aspect of a shinobi, especially if I combine a weapon with it." Naruto sighed dreamily. "But the strain on your chakra and body…I can see why the Yondaime just decided to make a whole different move to meet his needs. If only I could actually use the Hiraishin instead…oh well, this is the next best thing anyway, since the fox helps deal with all the side-effects."

Gaara slowly stood, his legs trembling from the sudden change of forms. Naruto moved his eyes over them for a moment, before focusing again on Gaara's face. _–So being possessed strains his body huh? And then I go and forcibly expel him from it basically…Ouch. –_

Gaara smiled, his eyes still that of Shukaku's, which made Naruto become slightly nervous. He slowly sunk into the sand, until nothing could be seen of him. Naruto tensed, wary of where Gaara might appear at. For a long time, nothing beyond the sound of falling and shifting sand filled the room. But then one of the whirlpools began to spew out a geyser of sand from its center. From it rose Gaara, now adorned with an impressive set of armor. It resembled the basic style of what a samurai may wear, but spikes adorned every piece of armor, and the gauntlets were clawed. The helmet looked like Shukaku's face, and the mouth guard even had a fake set of fangs on it for intimidation. Like Gaara's possessed form, blue veins ran along the entire set of armor.

"Wow…" Naruto was thoroughly impressed.

Gaara held his right hand out, palm facing down at the sand that held him up atop the geyser. Slowly the grains of sand formed together, compressing themselves until they shined with the mightiest minerals that made up the sands. Gaara grabbed hold of his new spear, the end in the shape of Shukaku's claw. He gave it one test revolution, before pointing it at Naruto.

"**Shinsei Suna no Yoroi!"** Gaara spun his spear again before pointing it again at Naruto. **"Saiko Zettai Hogeki: Shukaku no Yoko!"**

Naruto grinned, and unsheathed his sword for real this time. Neither one of them moved, awaiting an unknown signal to begin. And then, with no warning, they clashed. Sparks flew as metal made contact with hardened sand. Several times the sound of clicking was heard as Naruto unleashed his chain-whips at Gaara, only to have sand arise to try and trap the chains. A burst of chakra always foiled these attempts, but it served as a good distraction for Gaara to close in with. A click sounded out in the room, and the two combatants clashed in the center of the room again, spear against sword. When neither could find an advantage or opening, they pulled back to await one.

Naruto grinned, a bead of sweat rolling down his face. "Truly amazing…That spear is very well named. If that armor didn't seem to slow you down, if only slightly, then I bet you'd have landed a few blows already."

"_**Hahahahaha! Yes, let me feel alive Uzumaki!"**_ screamed Gaara, his voice warped and mixed with Shukaku's. They charged again, and this time they both drew blood, if only miniscule. Gaara received a gash on the side of his chest where the chest plate did not protect, and Naruto's shoulder was cut up by the multiple fingertips of the spears claw. As they jumped back again, Naruto spoke up once more. "Are you having fun Gaara?"

Gaara laughed, deep and malicious. But there was indeed a hint of pure joy within it all, unaffected by the killing intent and bloodlust he gave off. _**"Oh yes Uzumaki! I have never felt so alive before!"**_

"Good to hear Gaara, because I'd hate it if I was the only one who was enjoying all of this." Sand lashed out around him as he charged in for a new attack. _–I wonder if I can somehow reach Gaara and make him stop. I can't even be sure that he's possessed anymore since he has taken on this new battle form. -_

"**I don't think it's Gaara you're seeing right now Kit. I think Shukaku's the one we're fighting right now. His attitude is similar enough at least."**

_-Shit! That means he's already channeling Shukaku. Who knows how long before he tries to take on his real form…-_

"**Relax Naruto, this actually might be a good thing. Like I told you, Shukaku never battled for the blood or killing. He always fought for the thrill of beating a strong opponent. The seal is driving him crazy, which is why he wants to kill so often now, but I think the real him is starting to break through. If we keep fighting, then maybe he'll calm down and we'll be able to talk to them afterwards."**

Naruto frowned as he transformed his sword into its chain-whips. _–I don't think we can keep this up much longer. I just have to hope that everything up until now has been enough. –_ He charged, the chains keeping Gaara on the defensive until sand lashed out from the sides to force Naruto to do the same. As they pulled back, Naruto did a few hand signs before pointing the chains toward the ceiling. **"Ikazuchi no Kiba!"**

Lightning jumped from the tips of the chains and into the sand above. Nothing happened right away, and then dozens of lightning bolts pelted the area around Gaara. When the lightning died down, a large tanuki shaped statue of sand stood where Gaara had been. The stomach was slowly closing up, the last visible trace of Gaara inside of it. As it finally closed, he called out the name of his jutsu. **"Saiko Zettai Bogyo: Shukaku no Tatte!"**

"Dammit!" Naruto snapped his wrist and the chains all wrapped around themselves, but didn't return to their normal sword form. He created two clones to place in front of him, before running through hand signs and pumping as much of Kyuubi's chakra as he dared into the jutsu. **"Katon: Karyuu Saikou Kyuuzou!"**

A powerful roar made the room shudder as flames enveloped the chains and formed the shape of a mighty dragon. Naruto swung his sword, and the dragon attached to it moved to eat the tanuki that Gaara shielded himself in. As the fire dragon let out one last roar before making contact, the two clones let out their own yells as they were enveloped by their own chakra to protect the real Naruto.

The reason for their chakra barriers became clear once the dragon crashed into the tanuki, and the world around the blonde was enveloped in flames.

XXXXX

An explosion enveloped the entire tower, raining sand and pieces of the tower down on the surrounding forest. Fire spewed from the top of the remaining segment of the tower, catching several overhanging trees on fire before they were extinguished by the combined efforts of Sarutobi, Uindo, and Hayate. They finished their firefighting just in time to see the flames from the tower die away, and to watch as several chunks of glass slide off the now open top of the tower in the sand waterfalls that shrouded the bottom half of the tower.

Uindo frowned, a brief flash of worry rising in his mind, and walked over to Hinote. "Hinote…was that what I think it was?" he asked.

Hinote nodded. "Yeah, it's definitely that jutsu."

"What?" Sasuke and Sarutobi asked at the same time.

"Around a year ago…right?" Uindo glanced at his sister for confirmation. She nodded, and he continued. "Okay, so about a year ago, Hinote and Itachi worked together in making a new and powerful Katon jutsu. What they made was a deadly S-rank one that, so far, only the two of them can perform to the fullest without any tricks. Naruto can also perform it, but he has to use his sword and Kyuubi's chakra."

"It's a very picky jutsu too, in execution and creation." said Hinote. "Besides the high chakra cost and precise control needed, there's a ton of things that you have to be careful about in making it. If you gather chakra wrong, fail to manipulate the fire correctly, convert the fire wrong, or hell even just overpower the sucker, then it'll literally blow up in your face." She glanced at the Hokage. "Truth be told Hokage-sama, even someone of your level would find it nearly impossible to perform it."

"Wait…then how come Naruto and you are able to perform it? I understand why my brother could, but…" Sasuke trailed off, noticing the confident smirk on Hinote's face. For some reason the look made him blush, although only slightly.

"Like I said before, Naruto can because of Kyuubi's chakra and the channeling capabilities of his sword, which already requires chakra to be pushed through it for him to use its full power. As for me…" Hinote winked, making Sasuke's blush deepen. "Secret!"

Uindo sighed, looking over at the tower again. "Since he used it, I guess that means that the end of the match is close. But, to use it in such a close space…"

The group remained silent after Uindo's unsaid words. They simply turned to watch the tower, and hoped for a good ending to this amazing match between jinchuriki.

XXXXX

A hand stood out amongst the flowing sand that fell to the forest floor below from the sides of the tower. Slowly, another joined it, and with several spitting noises and various curses, Naruto's head popped up above the sand. He slowly pulled the rest of his body out of the sand waterfall and stopped when he stood atop a piece of rubble. A sharp pain ran up his left leg, and when he looked down he noticed several metal fragments embedded into it. Red chakra flashed for a moment over the pieces, before they shot out and blood began to flow down his leg. That was also taken care of by Kyuubi's chakra only seconds later, and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well…that was actually a lot better than I thought it would turn out to be." he said. The sound of shifting rubble made him jump clear of the one he stood atop and it soon fell over the side of the tower. Naruto finally looked around the new open ceiling of the tower his attack had made, and to him it resembled an ancient desert battlefield with all the various sized pieces of rubble and metal. He sweatdropped, rubbing his head sheepishly as thought over what his actions had done. "Half the tower must be gone now…I really hope the old man will forgive me for this."

The sand buckled near the center of the miniature desert, and a large piece of rubble shot out. Gaara slowly emerged, his clothes almost completely gone and singed along the edges of whatever fabric remained. Naruto ran one eye over the redhead, and nodded. "You're spent, aren't you?"

"…" Gaara didn't respond. He simply stared at Naruto with an unreadable expression.

"Let's see…I'm about drained myself too, not counting the chakra I could borrow from the fur ball." Naruto chuckled. "But if I did, with my reserves as depleted as they are, then I'd be hurting myself just as much as I would you."

"Hn." Gaara seemed to regain a little of his earlier emotionless air and posture, crossing his arms even despite his shaky foothold in the sand. Despite his look, Naruto could easily tell that he too was in the same condition as he was.

Naruto slowly walked closer, careful to not disturb the rubble as he passed in fear of something unexpected happening. "Now let me ask…how's Shukaku right now?"

Gaara's mask slipped, if only for a second. In that moment Naruto could see a sliver of happiness from the redhead. "Mother…" Gaara shook his head. "I mean Shukaku…he's quiet…and happy. He mumbles about fighting and getting a good drink now…and he wishes for a rematch later…I've never heard him act like this before." Gaara placed a hand over his heart, rubbing slightly as if something was there. "And these feeling…what are they? Why does Shukaku act like this, is it causing these feelings?""

Naruto stopped in front of Gaara, placing a hand on the slightly shorter jinchuriki's shoulder. "That's the real Shukaku you hear now, the one untainted by the priest's spirit and your faulty seal. It's a wonder that you haven't become a mindless vegetable with two spirits locked away inside of you, even it they both are intertwined with the other..." Naruto paused slightly, looking at the hand Gaara still had over his heart. "And those feelings…they are what you once killed…the emotions and feelings that made you human. If anything, consider their resurrection a sign as to what, and who, you are…" Green eyes locked with blue, neither looking away. "A human being…"

Naruto stepped back, letting Gaara think to himself for a moment. Gaara raised his free hand to his lips, wiping off the blood that trickled down the sides. He stared at it, entranced by the familiar yet foreign sight. It seemed that it was a bit surprising to see ones own blood when it usually was that of an enemies or prey.

"I wish…" muttered Gaara. "I wish that this moment, these feelings, could never end. No cries for blood, no sweet words that drive me further into madness, no faces of fear and terror that follow me everywhere I go." Gaara looked up at Naruto, as if knowing the blonde could fulfill his wish. "Wouldn't that be wonderful, Uzumaki? To be human once more..."

"Ask and you shall receive." A flicker of hope filled Gaara's eyes at Naruto's words. Naruto extended his hand, forming his half of a hand shake. "It will be hard, but I never go back on a promise. That's my nindo after all." Naruto flashed a smile. "So far, I haven't broken a single one, no matter the odds against me."

"…" Gaara looked at the extended hand. "Do you really promise, on your nindo?" Naruto nodded, and Gaara slowly extended his own hand until he was holding Naruto's. They shook hands, and Gaara's mouth twitches slightly, the early signs of a smile long forgotten returning.

"I would like that, Uzumaki. Please, help me become human once more." Gaara suddenly fell forward, and Naruto barely caught him in time before he could fall into the sand. Moving over to a nearby piece of rubble, Naruto gently set Gaara down and ran through hand signs. He tapped the kanji on Gaara's head, and with a faint glow a blue circle appeared around it. Naruto looked over his handiwork for a moment, before lifting Gaara up again.

_-That seal should hold Shukaku back for about a month. Hopefully something can be done before I have to re-administer it again. –_ thought Naruto. Adjusting his grip again on Gaara, he slowly made the long trek down the slippery sand to leave the tower and meet with up everyone.

XXXXX

Sarutobi had just finished talking with Hayate over the matter of secrecy when he felt a chakra signature approach. Uindo and Hinote joined him as they looked toward the side of the tower, a small blob growing as it approached. It soon became clear, and Naruto could be seen carrying an unconscious Gaara on his shoulders.

Sarutobi met up with Naruto halfway and gestured for the blonde to set Gaara down. He complied, and the Hokage used his medical knowledge to inspect the redhead. "He's mostly just suffered chakra exhaustion. Nothing a few days of rest can't fix." He looked up at Naruto, one eyebrow raised. "I'm actually surprised there's so little damage besides his clothing and scratches."

"A Biju does come in handy a lot of the time." said Naruto.

"Ah, that makes sense I suppose." Uindo and Hinote walked up behind him, Sasuke trailing behind them both with his hands in his pockets.

"What happened in there Naruto? We saw you use that last attack, hell I had to help put out the fires started by it!" said Uindo. Hinote giggled when Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, things were getting a little too risky and I had to finish it. It didn't help that he had his best defense up when I used my jutsu." said the blonde. Sasuke smirked behind the group, and he turned to yell toward Hayate.

"Hey proctor!" Hayate and everyone else looked over at Sasuke. "The match is over, and one of them is still standing. Doesn't that mean something?"

Hayate coughed, his hand covering up the small smile on his lips. He raised his hand just for effect and shouted, "Winner, Naruto Uzumaki!"

XXXXX

The darkness began to retreat from Gaara's mind as he slowly awoke in an unknown location. He opened one eye, noticing the white tiled ceiling above him and the smell of various cleaning chemicals in the air. He had never been in a hospital before as a patient, but he had visited one once before when he and Temari had gone to pick Kankuro up after a failed experiment with his puppets.

Slowly pushing himself up on his bed, he noted that night had fallen outside and two separate breathing sounds came from beside him. He turned, and the silhouettes of Temari and Kankuro could be seen sleeping on two chairs beside his bed. His lips twitched as he noticed that Temari was using her fan like a giant teddy bear, and it was even more amusing when she seemed to cuddle even closer to it in her sleep.

A quiet puff of smoked formed at the end of his bed, and Naruto appeared with his two teammates behind him. Gaara nodded toward the blonde, and Naruto nodded back in reply.

"Uzumaki, why are you here?" asked Gaara.

"What? I can't come and check up on a friend when he's in the hospital?" Gaara's eyes widened at Naruto's words, but Naruto continued on as if not noticing his effect. "Anyway, you've been out for about 7 hours already and…"

"Hold on, what of Shukaku? I was asleep…"

Uindo shook his head, walking forward to tap Gaara's forehead, specifically on his kanji. "Don't worry about that. Naruto sealed him up so you could sleep peacefully for once. It was actually pretty funny too when your siblings saw you like this. They kept on trying to wake you up, and in the end Naruto had to restrain them just so that we could explain everything."

"But anyway…" Hinote now spoke up, smiling with her hands behind her back. "We have something to talk to you about, if you'll listen that is."

"…" Gaara looked over at his siblings, their gentle breathing indicating they were still asleep. "What is it?"

Uindo and Hinote's eyes began to shine with green and red, both of them looking toward Naruto. Naruto slowly raised an eyebrow, but in the end he just sighed and looked back toward Gaara. "Well Gaara….we want to offer you a home."

Gaara kept a neutral expression, but inside curiosity was bubbling up to the surface. "What do you mean?"

Naruto, having been forcibly chosen to explain by his two teammates, began to explain to Gaara about everything. Kazegakure, their goals, and their offer of a home to all jinchuriki, he explained it all. Gaara sat through all of this with his ever calm face, but inside of him was yet again another story. When Naruto finally finished, Gaara's lips twitched once, twice, and then it became a full blown smile. Naruto knew Gaara was trying to show he was happy, but his smile was sadly crooked, making him seem insane instead of happy.

"You would really offer me a home, free from the hatred my village shows?" Gaara asked. The trio nodded and Gaara laughed. It was short, and a little disturbing, but it was a laugh nonetheless.

"I never thought I'd ever escape this life. To think there is a village that accepts people like me…people like you." He nodded toward at Naruto. "This is a dream come true. A dream…a dream I never dared to consider." A sad smile crept up his face. "But this feeling…so many of them…they hurt so much…but also feel so good…"

A hand settled onto Gaara's shoulder, and everyone looked over to see Temari standing beside her brother, a warm smile on her face. She pulled Gaara into a hug, and the redhead didn't resist her action. Nobody did anything to disturb the moment, letting brother and sister bond as one calmed the other. Gaara's eyelids slowly drooped after a while, and in seconds he was once again asleep. Temari gently set him back on his bed, even placing the covers back over his body.

Uindo coughed to catch Temari's attention. "So…how long have you been listening?"

"Ever since you guys got here." replied Kankuro, still sitting in his chairs with his arms crossed.

Temari smiled, running a hand through Gaara's hair. "You learn to sleep lightly when Shukaku's a constant threat. Sometimes we didn't even sleep in fear of Gaara falling asleep and letting the sand demon out."

"So…what do you think of our offer?" asked Hinote. Temari and Kankuro looked at their sleeping brother, and with a nod toward each other they looked at Naruto. "We think its fine." said Temari. "We can only hope Gaara accepts it. After all, anywhere is better then back in Suna for him. Living in a village that would accept him is just an added bonus."

Naruto nodded and tapped the seal on the back of his shirt. A small cloud of smoke revealed a scroll, which Naruto handed to Temari. "When he wakes up remind him of our offer again. If he accepts…" Naruto pointed at the scroll. "Give him that. It's an official transfer scroll, already half signed by Akatsuki in acceptance of him joining Kazegakure. All he has to do is get that signed by the Kazekage and then he's done." Hinote and Uindo had already left by their own Shunshin's when Naruto turned to leave.

"Oh yeah…" Naruto looked over his shoulder and smiled. "If any of you have anything to ask us, be sure to check out Ichiraku Ramen at the end of every week during the next month. You won't be able to find us otherwise." With that Naruto vanished in a plume of smoke.

XXXXX

Naruto reappeared outside Ichiraku and walked in, waving in greeting at Uindo and Hinote who were already seated and eating. He quickly sat down and ordered his own bowls, the smell of fresh ramen from the kitchen making him drool.

"Hey Naruto…" Naruto looked over at Uindo, the other blonde finishing off his fifth bowl already. "What are going to do for the next month anyway?"

Naruto didn't respond at first, since the waitress had arrived with his bowls. He spent the next few minutes simply eating his ramen, quickly creating a mountain of bowls to go with the ones that Uindo himself had made. Hinote, after finishing her third, challenged the waitress to a bet to see who would stop first. When Naruto finally set down his chopsticks, Hinote grumbled as she handed over some ryo to the waitress.

"We're going to head out of the village to train. Itachi-sensei once told me about a valley near here, about a day away if we use Shunshin most of the time to travel. He called it the Valley of the End."

"I've heard of that place. The Shodaime apparently battled the founder of the Uchiha clan there, and their battle was so intense that they made the valley itself. Shodaime won of course." said Hinote. Naruto frowned, a weird feeling deep within him making Hinote's words seem off, but he pushed it aside as being nothing.

"That sounds pretty cool, reminds me of our own adventures." muttered Uindo. He moved an empty ramen bowl to the side and grabbed another full one. "So when do we leave?"

"We'll head out tomorrow morning. Be sure you have anything you might need, we won't be returning to village until the end of the week. We'll continue doing this until the day before the Chuunin Exams." Uindo and Hinote nodded. They soon left after that, cries of joy coming from the shop behind them as the chef counted up their money. They settled into Naruto's apartment for the night, and come morning they were walking out of the village gates. Sasuke watched them from afar atop the wall until they were out of sight with a Shunshin, and then he turned to find Kakashi so that he could train. Thus began the month long training for the Chuunin Exams.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:** This is a revised edition of Chapter 5. I hope you enjoyed it! (Any previous Author Notes from revised chapters no longer exist)


	6. Chapter 6

"Normal Speech"

_-Thoughts-_

**"Demon Speech"**

**"Jutsu!"**

XXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 6: Toad Sannin or Super Pervert?

One week had now passed since the Chuunin Exams had paused for a month of training. In a nice and flashy display, Naruto and his team appeared in front of the gates in a mass of smoke, flames, and leaves. Their Akatsuki cloaks were nowhere in sight, sealed within the seals on the back of their shirts so they wouldn't dirty them during all of their training. After getting their papers confirmed by the guards, they quickly made their way to the local hot spring and settled into the waters. Naruto and Uindo both let out a sigh of relief as they felt pieces of dirt, sweat, and the stress of training wash away. A loud splash came across from the bamboo wall that separated the girls and boys hot springs, signaling that Hinote had probably done a cannonball into the water. They heard several loud shrieks from the other women in confirmation of their suspicions.

"So Naruto, do you think you'll be able to get that jutsu down in time for the exams?" asked Uindo, a small towel covering his eyes as he slipped down into the water more.

"I don't know. Kyuubi has really been drilling me with it, but I still can't quite grasp it without a test subject." Naruto replied.

"Too bad…You know Hinote and I would gladly help, but…"

"Don't worry about it! If I can't get it in time for the exams than I'll just finish it when we get back home. I'm sure sensei would be more than willing to help me, or maybe…" Naruto suddenly went into a thinking pose, one hand on his chin and his eyes shut so he resembled a fox.

"Heh…" Uindo smiled and removed the towel over his eyes. They flashed green, and he looked over at the wall. "Hey Hinote, how are you doing over there?" Several women on the other side started grumbling about nosy boys, but luckily they didn't seem to believe he was peeping in on them.

"Great, except there's this creepy pervert that keeps giggling every few seconds!" Hinote replied. An eerie silence filled the air at her words. Naruto and Uindo glanced between each other, a raised eyebrow being the only thing they said to the other. Finally, several cries of 'Pervert!' filled the air, followed by a curse from the now revealed pervert. Several thumping footsteps came from behind the wall, and the two blondes followed the sound until it was seemingly closing in on their side of the springs. The door flung open, and a white haired old man dived into the waters, raising one finger to his lips in mid-jump. As the water settled after his dive, several towel clad women appeared at the door, their various bathing supplies in hand ready to beat the pervert senseless with.

"Where is the pervert?" screamed a pink haired girl in the crowd. She and the other women behind her looked over at Naruto and Uindo, the killing intent they were releasing being directed on the two. "Was it one of you?"

Naruto and Uindo paled, waving their hands furiously as they shouted about how they were not the pervert. The women luckily seemed to accept their pleas, and with one final warning glare they all left to head back to their side of the baths. As the last one shuffled out, Hinote walked in behind them all, a towel tied around her to hide her more private areas. Uindo strongly suspected it was more for Naruto's sake than anyone's, even him, but he remained quiet in case she decided to prove him wrong.

"Well that was fun!" she exclaimed. She slipped into the water with the boys and leaned against the side. "So…where did he go anyway? I know he ended up in here somewhere."

"You are really annoying at times sis." Uindo muttered. He sighed, and then kicked a rock out from the bottom of the pool. In midair it vanished in a cloud of smoke to reveal the same white haired pervert from before, a bruise on his face from Uindo's kick. He flipped around in midair and struck a pose as he landed, making the Kaze trio sweatdrop at the absurd pose.

The man turned, now done with his posing, and glared at Uindo. "Watch it brat! Do you know who I am?" The man said. Uindo shrugged, making the man even angrier.

"A soon to be dead pervert who better start explaining, or else." Naruto answered, cracking his knuckles dangerously. Hinote smirked and moved out of the water to sit on the edge. She stretched and posed, letting some of her towel slip to reveal her chest to the world and a certain pervert. "Obviously he wanted to view a true vision of beauty, a goddess in mortal form, and who am I to refuse!" Hinote laughed, winking at the pervert as she leaned forward slightly so that her breasts were even more obvious. "After all, there's nobody sexier than me!"

Naruto froze as he stared at Hinote's display. The pervert was writing in a notebook he had pulled out, smoke coming from the paper and pen at the speed he was writing. Hinote laughed again, striking a few more poses, and making Naruto grow pale in the face as his mouth dropped. Uindo sighed as he noticed a very large amount of blood beginning to seep out of Naruto's nose. _–Why did my sister have to be so…so…troublesome? -_

"Hinote…" His voice was low, a quiet warning to his sister to stop what she was doing.

Hinote ignored the silent warning and simply pouted in protest. "Aww, but I want to have some fun!"

"Naruto's about to pass out from his nosebleed, and do I have to remind you of the last time you did that to him …'just for fun'?" That seemed to make Hinote change her mind. She frowned, but nevertheless she covered herself back up, making Naruto regain some of the color in his face. However a moment later he was blushing, probably from remembering the sight again or perhaps the Kyuubi messing with his host.

The old pervert seemed disappointed, but as he put his notes away he giggled under his breath at the large amount of notes he had taken. He walked up to Hinote, bowing slightly with a lecherous grin on his face. "Thank you very much young lady. Thanks to you, my next book is sure to be an absolute success!"

Naruto finally finished wiping up his blood and glared at the man, releasing a little killing intent to make him sweat hopefully. "That's it! Just who the hell are you?!"

The man seemed to ignore Naruto's killing intent and instead stepped back, beginning a strange dance that made every sweatdrop. "Thanks for asking! I am Mt. Myoboku's Holy Master Sennin, also known as the Gama Sannin, the Gallant Jiraiya!" He twirled his long spiky white hair and struck another pose. "I'm also the famous author of the infamous series Icha Icha! Perhaps you have heard of it?"

"Oh yeah I know it. That's the perverted book that Kyuubi keeps whining about. I've lost count how many times he's tried to make me read that thing." muttered Naruto. He heard Kyuubi growl inside the seal, but promptly ignored the fox demon.

Jiraiya stepped out of his pose, a curious expression on his face. "Kyuubi…you wouldn't happen to be Naruto, would you?"

The three Kaze shinobi all raised an eyebrow, Uindo and Hinote looking over at Naruto. Naruto simply shrugged at them and then addressed Jiraiya. "Yes…I'm Naruto. Why do you ask?"

"Sarutobi-sensei asked me to talk to you, something about a seal and a kid…" Jiraiya pulled out what looked to be a separate notebook from the first and flipped through a few pages. "I think his name was Gaara."

"Gaara? Why'd he want us to talk to some pervert about Gaara?"

"Hey I'm not just some damn pervert!" yelled Jiraiya.

Hinote smirked and titled her head. "Then what are you…Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya smirked and again took a weird stance. "I'm a Super Pervert!"

All three of them face faulted at the exclamation. When he finally recovered, Naruto knocked Jiraiya into the water and held his head underwater for good measure, making the man produce several air bubbles that hid the curse words behind their creation.

XXXXX

"So you're supposed to help us fix Gaara's seal?" asked Naruto, now sitting inside the Hokage's office after leaving the hot spring. Jiraiya nodded, and Sarutobi leaned forward in his seat. "Jiraiya here is Konoha's best seal master. Only the Yondaime has ever been able to surpass him, and you are the living proof."

Naruto knew what he meant, and he nodded his approval as he subconsciously rubbed his stomach. "Okay…but we still need to find out if Gaara even accepted our offer first. I mean, we'll still do it even if he doesn't want to, but…"

A swirling funnel of sand formed beside the Hokage, interrupting Naruto, and from it stepped out Gaara. "I accept, Uzumaki." Gaara said. A small smirk then grew on his face, perhaps the closest thing to a full smile he had ever made. Naruto smiled, and behind him Uindo and Hinote's eyes glowed. He walked up to Gaara, and the two shook hands. "Then let me be the first to welcome you to Kazegakure, although it's unofficial still for the moment."

Jiraiya cleared his throat, gaining the attention of everyone. "Well that's nice brat, but I have to actually see the seal before I can do anything." Gaara nodded, and walked toward a nearby seat, sitting down as Jiraiya moved to stand behind him. He bit his thumb and wiped some of it onto a notebook he pulled out, this one seemingly blank until the blood activated a hidden seal on the cover. "Now then, where's the seal anyway?"

"There's a fake one on the back of his neck, but the real one is underneath the kanji on his head." said Uindo, having looked when Gaara had been asleep in the hospital. Jiraiya nodded and pushed Gaara's shirt down slightly to look at the one on the neck first.

"Ah, now this is unexpected. This seal is indeed a fake prison seal, using a complex mixture of Genjutsu and various minor seals to trick anyone trying to remove Shukaku without the proper ritual. But…" Jiraiya frowned, looking toward his notebook and scribbling a few more notes down in the process. "According to the runes, this one still allows anyone extracting Shukaku to obtain something. But…what else is there besides Shukaku?"

The room fell silent as everyone thought what it could be. But it didn't last for long as Naruto snapped his fingers. "I know! It's probably the priest!" Seeing the confused looks from the Hokage and Jiraiya, Uindo decided to explain his fellow blonde's explanation.

"When Shukaku was originally captured and sealed, a Suna priest sealed him inside of his body before sealing himself into whatever object they chose. I think it was meant to prevent Shukaku from breaking free of the object, since only a living host could truly keep the Biju inside it forever, but it had several drawbacks. For one thing it's the main cause of Shukaku's insanity and why any host isn't allowed to sleep, besides the mad ravings of the tanuki that is. The mental strain of having not only one, but two spirits sealed inside him could easily tear the hosts psyche apart if they were to let their brains relax, or in other words if they fell asleep." Uindo glanced at Gaara. "It's only thanks to Naruto's quick thinking that he applied a temporary solution to that problem as well while his seal remains in place."

Jiraiya nodded and went back to looking over the seal. He made a few more notes and even scanned the seal once with a jutsu, before giving up and moving onto the second seal. As he looked at the kanji and blue circle, he frowned. "Who made this repressive seal again? It's obviously been done only recently."

"It was me." Naruto replied.

"Hmm…not bad brat, you've actually got some skill it seems." Naruto growled at being called a brat, but didn't respond otherwise. Jiraiya also looked over this seal for a while, making even more notes, before closing the notebook and sitting down. He let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Whoever did this actually knew his or her seals, despite what everyone believes of Suna's seal expert. The neck seal has the look of a broken and weak seal, something that could barely hold back Shukaku's power. But in reality, it was never meant to, and the real seal is just below the effectiveness of the one the Yondaime used to seal Kyuubi with." He waved a hand dismissively. "You know, without having the Shinigami perform it, but still using a life as sacrifice.

_-My real mother…-_ thought Gaara, a frown on his face being the only indication of his sadness.

"But..." Jiraiya leaned forward and rested his chin atop one of his hands. "There's one more thing about the smaller seal that bothers me. I couldn't be sure when I first saw it, but then the real seal confirmed my suspicions."

"What's wrong?" asked Hinote.

"The seals are connected, with Gaara's life hanging in the balance either way. Shukaku or the priest, the connection isn't picky on which is chosen." Jiraiya sighed again before continuing. "If we can just extract the priest's spirit, then everything will be fine. Shukaku will no longer be insane, Gaara will be able to sleep without the brats seal on him, and he wouldn't loose his life due to the priest's spirit being a lesser one in comparison to the Biju, although he would no doubt be unconscious for at least a week afterwards."

"But there's a catch…" Naruto didn't need to see Jiraiya's nod to know his words were true.

"By using the neck seal to directly remove the priest like it was meant to do, we'll kill Gaara due to a fail safe that taps the real seal and uses Shukaku's chakra to literally burn his chakra coils to ash. It would be a slow, painful death." Gaara gulped and everyone else turned to the redhead with a sympathetic look. "And if we use the real seal to extract the priest, we risk pulling Shukaku along with him, and thus killing Gaara again from the strain of having the Biju ripped free of his soul. I give our odds of success at around 20 percent."

The room fell completely silent after Jiraiya finished. Gaara had walked over to a nearby window and was quietly gazing out toward the village below, his face hidden by the angle he was standing at. The silence was broken by Naruto's voice. "So…what do we do? I could keep refreshing my seal, but that would leave Gaara defenseless."

"The best idea would probably be to get Tsunade to help us out." muttered Jiraiya, mostly to himself but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Tsunade? Who's she?" asked Hinote again.

"Tsunade is another of my students and the Slug Sannin. She's the greatest medic-nin to ever exist…and the worst gambler too." Sarutobi replied. He barely held in a chuckle as a particular memory floated up to the front of his mind. Jiraiya had somehow tricked Tsunade into playing strip poker, and not soon after a strange star has appeared in the day along with a woman screaming about perverts. Jiraiya returned to the village six weeks later, having traveled back all the way on a crutch from Iwa after narrowly escaping being killed by the Iwa-nin. The only good thing about the whole experience had been Jiraiya's next novel, which Tsunade had hunted him down for.

"With Tsunade assisting me, I give our chances of extracting the priest through the main seal, separated without Shukaku, at a little over 50 percent." Jiraiya explained. "The reason is that the removal will be much more successful if I go all out in the extraction, but the damage to Gaara's body would be too much for him to survive, Biju or not. And from what the standards are these days in terms of medic-nin, there's not a one alive beyond Tsunade who have a chance of countering all the damage in time for saving him."

"Well then it's settled, we'll ask Tsunade to help us. But, um…" Uindo paused and scratched his chin in thought. "Where is she anyway?" Jiraiya coughed and glanced at Sarutobi. The Hokage had an unpleasant look on his face, but it quickly vanished as he became serious.

"That…is where things become complicated." Sarutobi paused as he pulled out his pipe from within his robes. Taking a moment to light it, he breathed out a small puff of smoke before continuing. "Tsunade's history with Konoha is shaky to say the least. I have no doubt in my mind that she'll never betray us, but as to whether she'll help us or return here…"

"She wouldn't, why not?" Naruto asked.

"Life here, for her at least, has not been pleasant. Several years ago, just as the last war was beginning, her brother Nawaki was killed during one of the early Iwa skirmishes. The death affected her badly, since apparently it was only a few days after she handed him her grandfather's necklace, the one that once belonged to the Shodaime himself." Naruto's eyes seemed to shine for a moment, and Sarutobi had a suspicion the blonde knew of the necklaces strange abilities. "Time passed and she slowly recovered from it. A few years later, she began to date a young man named Dan. The two were deeply in love, and at some point she also gave him the same necklace…"

"…Something happened to him too." Sarutobi knew Hinote's words were not a question, but a statement. He nodded. "Yes, for he also died not long after. But this time Tsunade had been there when he died, and from it she not only begun to believe that the necklace was cursed to all but her, but she also gained a fear of blood." Sarutobi's expression darkened. "From there her skills seemed to drop drastically, and she picked up her horrid drinking habit, which only seemed to boost her already horrid gambling addiction."

"Debts pilled up, good memories suddenly became drowned in the few bad, and she basically became a shadow of the infamous kunoichi she was." Jiraiya said. "About a year before the Kyuubi attacked, a few months after Orochimaru left, she decided to do the same. She used her position and title to gain traveling papers and simply left, taking Dan's young niece with her as an apprentice. I was out trying to bring Orochimaru back at the time, and because of that she slipped under the radar without anyone realizing it before it was too late."

"But you have been able to track her down, if only with a slight success, right Jiraiya?" asked Sarutobi.

"Yes…or normally I'd say so. The Chuunin Exams have messed up my information network a little, and for some reason a lot of my normal informants have suddenly gone into hiding. So now several of my informants are here in Konoha now, but with outdated info, and the other key ones are…" Jiraiya shrugged. "All I can tell you is where she was about two months ago and of course that's vague too."

"So…we can't do anything until the exams are over? That sucks." Naruto muttered.

"Do not worry." Everyone jumped, surprised when Gaara had suddenly spoken after being silent for so long. "I have lived with Shukaku's madness all my life, so another month will do me no harm."

Gaara's words seemed to call the meeting to an end and with a small wave from Sarutobi everyone began to leave the Hokage's office. As the door closed behind them, Jiraiya grabbed Naruto's shoulder to hold him back. Uindo and Hinote paused up ahead, looking back once they noticed the missing blonde. Jiraiya gave them a short nod, and when Naruto did as well they waved goodbye and vanished. Naruto spun around, an annoyed expression on his face. "What do you want Ero-Sennin?"

The nickname made Jiraiya twitch, but he decided to ignore it. "I just have a few questions okay? For starters, you do know about Kyuubi right?" Naruto's blank expression made Jiraiya consider his own stupid question. "Umm…right. But do you know who your parents were?"

Naruto frowned slightly, unhappy with where this conversation was going. He had accepted many things in his life as an orphan, but the thought of who his parents were still remained a thorn that he wanted removed from his side. If anything, he just wanted to know…why. "No…" Naruto finally murmured.

"**Don't' be so sure Kit. Think back a ways, you should know one of them at least."**

The Kyuubi's sudden interruption made Naruto pause, and following the fox's suggestion he thought back to the past few years. At first nothing seemed to come to mind, but gradually something did. He recalled Itachi becoming interested in the village's archives, at least the ones that hadn't been ruined. When Itachi finally came back from his sudden research trip, all he told Naruto was…

"Wait…" Jiraiya closed his mouth before he even spoke a word. He looked at Naruto curiously, and Naruto explained. "A long time ago…sensei found something about the Uzumaki name…and how the last one had gone to Konoha after…something." Naruto frowned, fumbling with his memories to recall everything that had been said. "Her name…was Kushina Uzumaki."

Jiraiya nodded. "Like you suspect, Kushina was indeed your mother Naruto. I don't know all the details myself, but what I do know is that she was the lone survivor of the Land of Whirlpool. It was a small but economically powerful island bordering the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water, but before your mother came to Konoha something happened to it. When Konoha sent out scouts to investigate, all we found was…nothing. It was as if the entire population of the entire land had…vanished." Jiraiya frowned. He seemed to mostly be talking to himself now more than Naruto. "No more Land of Whirlpool…and not even a slight whimper of its death beyond Kushina coming to the village. We kept asking her about what happened, but she never did say anything and we never pushed out of respect for her. And not only after it was integrated into the Land of Water..."

"Okay…well it's nice to know she really was my mother and not some relative. But…what does that have to do with anything?"

"I was getting to that!" snapped Jiraiya. "And it doesn't really involve your mother, just your father…" Jiraiya suddenly stopped.

"What's the matter?"

"…Nothing." Naruto looked at Jiraiya funny, but just shrugged it off. Jiraiya continued. "Anyway, I kinda promised you old man that I'd train you once you got old enough. I had intended to wait a little longer…but since you're no longer a part of Konoha, I guess I'll take the time I have now to do so."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, all the while with a smirk growing on his face. "Oh? You want to train me? Sorry Ero-Sennin, but I doubt there's anything new you can teach me. After all, my sensei and the fur ball together probably know around 80 percent of all the jutsu in the world that were ever made."

Jiraiya huffed and puffed out his chest, even slamming one fist against it. "Who do you think you're talking to brat?! I'm a Sannin, and not only do I have nearly a thousand jutsu under my belt, but I sure as hell have a lot of other useful shinobi tricks to teach you too!"

Naruto crossed his arms and closed his eyes, humming a little as he thought over the offer. He opened one eye slightly to look at Jiraiya. "This isn't going to cost me anything, is it?"

"…Maybe." Noticing the two red narrowed eyes now focused on him, Jiraiya quickly changed his mind. "Fine then, no charge."

"Alright then, but if you can't teach me anything…then you've got to stop writing you books…." Naruto seemed to stare into space for a few seconds. "…for a year at most. You can thank the fur ball for making me not make you stop forever."

Jiraiya never thought he would be thanking the Kyuubi for anything. Hastily grabbing Naruto's hand, they shook. "You got yourself a deal brat. Meet me atop the Hokage's Monument in a week's time, right after you get back from your normal training."

As Jiraiya vanished in a puff of smoke, Naruto smirked again and vanished as well to catch up with his teammates. _–Perhaps the old pervert might actually have something for me to learn… -_

XXXXX

One week later found the Kaze trio once again in Konoha to relax. Hinote and Uindo went off to shop and restock their supplies, while Naruto went to locate Jiraiya. He thought about looking where they had promised to meet at, but who was the pervert trying to fool? After a quick scream to catch the women in the hot spring's attention, and after Jiraiya got his deserved beating, they moved over to the Hokage Monument to get down to business. At least, they'll get down to business once Jiraiya can find something to teach Naruto that is…

"**Shunshin?"**

"Check."

"**Bunshin Daibakuha?"**

"Last year, check."

"**Doton: Doryuheki?"**

"Check."

"**Doton: Yomi Numa?"**

"Don't remind me."

"**Kirigakure no Jutsu?"**

"…Damn, I though I'd forgotten that experience. Remind me to kill you for reminding me."

"Umm…Would you like to learn my original jutsu? **Hari Jizo?"**

"What does it do?

"It uses you hair as a spiked shield."

"My hair isn't long enough for that."

"If you let it grow out it will."

"You're reaching Ero-Sennin."

"Fine…**Kuchiyose?"**

"I already have a contract."

"You do huh? Who's the contract with?"

"Not telling ya Ero-Sennin."

"Hmph…damn brat…"

"Could you hurry up? I don't have all day you know."

"ALRIGHT THAT'S IT!!" Jiraiya screamed, grabbing his hair in frustration. Naruto smirked and slowly stood, dusting off a little dirt on his pant legs. "Well I guess I was right after all, you can't teach me anything new. Too bad really, I had actually hoped you would know some kind of cool jutsu for me." He turned and began to walk away, one hand raised in a wave goodbye. "See ya later Ero-Sennin, no hard feelings right?"

Jiraiya's hand snaked out and grabbed hold of Naruto's shirt, dragging the blonde back and down onto the ground. Naruto glared at the man for a second, before a smug little grin appeared on his face. Jiraiya sighed, looking tired and desperate for a moment. "Just…give me another minute okay?"

Naruto thought about it, and with a quick nod he lay back and stared up at the clouds. Jiraiya frowned, sitting down and crossing his legs as he rested his chin in one hand. _–Damn that brat, does he have to know so much already?! I'm one of the freaking Sannin! I should be able to teach anyone without having to beg them to wait for me to figure out what to teach them! –_ His eyes darted to the stone head they were sitting atop before looking up at the sky. _–Damn it Minato, why did I have to make that promise? It's not like I didn't practically agree to being his godfather after naming him…But then again that's hard to do since of all what's happened with him now… -_

"Alright Ero-Sennin, it's been about five minutes already." Naruto sat up and looked over at Jiraiya. "Got anything for me?"

Jiraiya cursed within his mind, but then he got an idea. _–Why the hell not? It's practically his birthright… -_ He motioned for Naruto to stand, and once both of them were up Jiraiya held out his hand, cupping his fingers slightly as he concentrated. Chakra began building up in his hand, spinning and becoming dense enough to be visible. In seconds it was complete, a sphere of chakra with madly spinning chakra tendrils inside. Naruto now had a hungry look in his eyes, and it definitely wasn't for food. Jiraiya grinned.

"This…" Jiraiya walked a little distance away and thrust the sphere of chakra into the side of a tree. The sphere remained there for a few seconds, before exploding in a fierce blast of wind and chakra. When the smoke cleared, Naruto's jaw dropped as he saw how the entire tree had been obliterated. "…Is the Rasengan! And that was about 20 percent of its full power. Supposedly, a full powered one that the Yondaime used against the Kyuubi was able to knock him down, hard."

_-Is that true Kyuubi? –_ Naruto asked the Kyuubi within his mind. He could feel the Kyuubi shift slightly inside the cage, probably hesitant in answering.

"…**Yes. My jaw was completely numb after he slammed that infernal attack into it, not to mention out of alignment."** The Kyuubi growled, but behind it Naruto could sense of respect for the Yondaime coming from the fox. Pleased with the fox's answer, he clapped his hands together. "Well then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and teach me Ero-Sennin!"

Jiraiya laughed and turned away, "Alright, meet me back here in one hour. I should have everything you'll need by then."

XXXXX

Electricity crackled in the air around Sasuke's left hand as he slowly pulled his fist free from the giant boulder in front of him. The rock face crumbled slightly at the sudden movement, revealing an impressive sized crater. It was even more so once Sasuke took into account the other two similar sized craters above and to the left of this one. The electricity suddenly died off, and with its sudden disappearance came the overwhelming exhaustion of the having used so much chakra. He barely managed to keep his Sharingan active, and even then his eyesight wavered slightly as his eyes shifted between red and black.

Kakashi applauded and walked up to Sasuke, a small smile hidden under his mask. "Excellent job Sasuke, I knew you could do it. But it seems your limit on the Chidori is three per day, and that's with the Sharingan activated too. Not bad considering mine is four." Kakashi hummed a little as he thought over the results. "In terms of chakra control I'd say you're at least high chuunin, and in terms of your reserves you definitely close to my levels. But I must warn you Sasuke." Kakashi's face now turned serious as he helped his student up to rest against a nearby intact boulder. "Don't try to push yourself beyond your limit of three Chidori's a day. You were able to use all three right after another while training with your reserves full, but in a battle you'll be using other various jutsu and the Sharingan, all of which will slowly drain your reserves. And if you try to go over your limit in these conditions, or even in the best, you might faint from chakra exhaustion…or die."

Sasuke, despite wishing he could just rest, pushed away from the boulder and faced his sensei with a stubborn glare. "Thank you Kakashi-sensei, but now I want you to teach me some other jutsu's, normal ones unlike the Chidori."

"Maa…Now why would you want me to do that? You also are barely standing as it is. Learning any new jutsu now, even if it's just by copying me with the Sharingan…"

"Your Chidori is powerful, but alone it cannot make me stronger." Sasuke wobbled slightly from a brief wave of fatigue, but steadied himself again and crossed his arms. "Plus it's too specific in the circumstances that would make it useful. I cannot simply rely on one move that can fail more often then succeed, or my bloodline too even, to win a battle. I need jutsu and experience, and training, so that I can adapt to any situation when I need to. What if I went against someone wielding Suiton jutsu, when all I know are Katon jutsu?"

_-Plus, this is the only way I can win against Naruto and Itachi... –_ Sasuke grimly thought.

Kakashi nodded and opened his book. _–Excellent Sasuke, you will make your family proud one day if you keep this up. -_ "That's good to hear Sasuke. Indeed, relying on one jutsu or a bloodline is an almost guarantee of losing, or worse having yourself or a teammate killed." He casually turned, using his foot to trip Sasuke and make him collapse onto the ground. "But first, how about you rest so that you can actually practice what I will teach you? Maybe have some lunch or something?" A perverted chuckle escaped Kakashi's lips as he flipped a page in his book. "Or of course you could always go see that cute red head on Naruto-kun's team. I've seen you looking at her a few times, and vice versa if I'm not mistaken."

Sasuke scowled and remained on the ground, hoping Kakashi wouldn't see the small blush on his face. _–Stupid Kakashi, it's not like I like her or anything…right? Stupid perverted sensei and his thrice dammed books… -_

Hinote paused in her shopping, sneezing slightly behind her hand.

XXXXX

An hour had passed finally and Naruto appeared in a puff of smoke atop the Hokage Monument. Jiraiya was there like planned, two small bags sitting on the ground beside him. He motioned Naruto over, and once they were both seated, Naruto glanced at the bags. "So then Ero-Sennin, how do we begin?"

Jiraiya grabbed one of the bags and placed it in front of Naruto, opening it to reveal the water balloons inside. Grabbing one, Jiraiya positioned his hand like before with the water balloon in it. Naruto could feel him manipulate chakra, and in seconds the sides of the balloon to spike in various directions before popping. "This is the first step, Rotation. Once you learn how to pop the balloon using only your chakra like I did, then we'll go onto the next step." Jiraiya explained. Finished, he then moved to the edge of the stone face they were atop and pulled out his telescope.

Naruto frowned at the pervert's actions, but then looked down at the water balloon still in his hand. _–Rotation…so basically I need to spin the water inside the balloon with my chakra. And then, it should basically burst like he made it and I'll have passed the first step. –_ He turned the water balloon around in his hand a couple times before repositioning to begin the training. _–Sounds easy enough. –_

It wasn't easy. Naruto could get the water spinning easily, it just wouldn't pop. Or rather, he could get it to pop, but the amount of chakra used and the speed he reached were both ridiculous, and the balloon looked nothing like what Jiraiya's had. It looked more like a disk than a spiked ball before it burst. Now up to his tenth balloon, Naruto sighed and stared heatedly at the balloon in his hand. "Rotation…" he muttered. He squeezed the balloon slightly, but luckily it did not pop by accident. _–Hey Kyuubi, got any advice? –_

"**Yes, but I'm not telling you. I still hate that blasted technique and I'm not going to help you learn it that easily." **A dark chuckled echoed inside his mind. **"Good for you though if you learn it."**

Naruto sighed, growing more frustrated at the problems of popping the stupid balloon. He pushed a trickle of chakra into the water inside the balloon, just enough to get it moving. He watched the balloon move slightly as the water did, trying to solve the puzzle. - _Rotation is the lesson and key…but how? Okay, first off how did it look when Ero-Sennin did it? It looked kinda spiky and bumpy, like something bouncing around inside the balloon… -_ A small sense of realization dawned on across his face. _–But there's only water…which means the water was bouncing around! That's it! I have to use more than one rotation at once to pop the balloon! –_

Patting himself on the back mentally, Naruto pushed more chakra into the balloon while speeding up the rotation. Once up to a suitable speed, he formed another ring of spinning chakra in a different angle to the first and made it speed up to the first's level. The balloon was wobbling like crazy, but it still had yet to look anything like what Jiraiya's had. A minute passed as Naruto slowly applied more and more rings of chakra, and finally for a one brief second the balloon did resemble Jiraiya's. But then it popped, showering Naruto with water. He smiled, happy at his success, and grabbed another balloon before jumping in front of Jiraiya.

The Toad Sannin was surprised with Naruto's sudden appearance, but curiosity filled him when he saw the balloon in the blonde's hand. Naruto channeled a little chakra, and the balloon popped in a small shower of water and balloon pieces. "Ah, congratulations brat, you passed the first step. You didn't take nearly as long as I though you would too." Jiraiya said. Not wasting a moment, he grabbed the second bag and pulled out a rubber ball to hand to Naruto. "Now it's time for part two, Power. This is about twice as hard, but don't push yourself too much or else you might get chakra burns. This step is basically repeating the same thing from before, but with only air and a lot more chakra."

Naruto quickly took the ball, but he didn't move from in front of Jiraiya. He looked at the small sphere, before grinning and forming the rings inside the ball. The sides bulged, but it didn't pop like before. Naruto had no problem with that thought. "Power huh?" He pushed as much chakra as he dared into the technique, and in a wondrous wave of chakra and air the ball popped, the sheer force of it pushing Naruto and Jiraiya back slightly. When Jiraiya lowered his hand from his face, he saw Naruto staring at his now burnt hand, which was slowly healing due to a red aura covering it.

_-Simply amazing! He's already run through two stages of the Rasengan within a couple hours, and judging by his control and chakra reserves, he might be able to push the Rasengan to a whole new level once he learns the final step. Maybe he could even…-_ Jiraiya shook his head and gave Naruto a small smile. _–That comes later, if at all. Right now I suppose I should get him onto the last step. -_

No words were spoken as Jiraiya stood up and pulled out a deflated balloon. After inflating it, he held it in his hand and simply stood there. Naruto tilted his head, confused as to why he wasn't doing anything. "Now listen up brat. The third and final step of the Rasengan is Control. Your job now is to create a stable sphere of chakra in which you can create the same effect you've made in the first two steps inside of it." Jiraiya held up his second hand and formed a Rasengan in it. Realization dawned on Naruto's face while Jiraiya finished his explanation. "You see? What's in one hand is the same as what's in the other. All you need to do to master the Rasengan now is to make a sphere and not pop the balloon around it."

Jiraiya couldn't help but add to the pressure and challenge of the jutsu a little more. "Just so you know…the final step is far beyond the difficulty of the first two steps. After all, what do you think the Yondaime was doing mostly for the three years he took to finish creating this?"

XXXXX

Another week had passed, with only one remaining before the Chuunin Exams started up again. Naruto was gulping down a few bowls inside Ichiraku Ramen, a small balloon resting on the counter beside him. The Rasengan training had been tiring, so much so that he had halted all other training just so he could learn it in time for the finals. It didn't help also that the Kyuubi had growled about him dropping the jutsu he had been learning from him so suddenly, but Naruto could deal with it since he was going to start on it again right after the Rasengan training was complete. After all, nobody would be so stupid as to give up on a jutsu like the one Kyuubi was teaching him.

He snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the flaps of the entrance part, and suddenly Gaara was sitting beside Naruto, arms crossed and not caring to order anything. Naruto nodded toward the red head but otherwise did nothing else. He knew Gaara wanted to talk to him, but was waiting for Naruto to finish his meal before speaking. He paused about a minute later, ordering a few more bowls but directing his attention toward Gaara. "So?"

"The seal you placed on me is close to disappearing. I can hear Shukaku again, but it seems he's still slightly subdued from our battle and the seals effects." Gaara replied. He looked at Naruto out of the corner of his eye. "I want to renew the seal you used, but…" He hesitated, and Naruto misread it from what Gaara was actually battling with inside his mind.

"Don't worry about it Gaara. I won't renew the seal unless you want me to. I mean you've already been defenseless for almost a month now, it's gotta be a little unnerving." The next batch of bowls came for Naruto and he slurped down the first bowl before resuming their conversation. "Just don't kill anyone unless necessary, okay?"

Gaara nodded, but he was merely distracting himself from the main topic he wished to discuss with Naruto. It didn't help when he asked the next question too. "What have you doing during the month Uzumaki?"

"I've been training of course. My team and I have been working hard in expanding our skills, and so far I've almost gotten the hang of one and the theory of another jutsu. I'm not sure exactly how many Uindo and Hinote have learned or come up with, but who knows?" Naruto shrugged. "Maybe they'll use them during the exams for everyone to see."

"I see…"

Naruto slurped the final few bowls of ramen and pulled out his wallet to pay. "So Gaara, what have you bee doing? I mean, besides catching up on nearly 12 years of insomnia."

Gaara didn't respond. He had a frown on his face as he stared intently at the grain of the wood of the counter. "Gaara, are you okay?" asked Naruto.

"I'm afraid I must confess something Uzumaki. You see…there shall be an invasion during the final rounds of the exams."

Faster than Gaara could follow, Naruto laid down his money on the counter and grabbed Gaara's wrist, pulling him along as they dashed toward Naruto's apartment. Once they reached the small apartment, Naruto quickly checked to see if his teammates were there, but they apparently were still out. He ran through a few hands signs, and the room flashed blue for a second, signifying that a sound proof barrier had been constructed. Naruto dropped Gaara onto the couch and leaned against the wall on the other side. He had a scowl on his face, but Gaara had a feeling it wasn't directed at him. "Explain." Naruto said, his voice bordering on a growl.

"A few months before the exams began, an Oto messenger arrived at our village with a proposal. Their leader, the supposed Otokage, knew of the cut military budget that our village was suffering from thanks to our Daimyo. He offered us assistance in gaining more funds, provided we allied with him in attacking Konoha during the upcoming exams. My father…" Gaara spat the word out. "He didn't agree to this alliance immediately. He knew that Konoha was powerful, and that even with my powers Suna would be hard pressed to win if the elites of Konoha were to fight me, especially is Jiraiya were to be there. But the Otokage was persistent, eerily so. In the end he convinced my father to come to Otogakure to discuss our alliance with them. When he returned, he seemed to have taken a complete turn in…everything. He announced our alliance to the village, and turned all matters of the invasion over to Oto beyond what shinobi Suna would send to fight with, which was nearly everyone all the same. And, he also seemed to become…kind, toward my siblings, and even me. It was almost impossible to see, but it was there, along with the sudden…sinister undertone that his voice held."

Naruto frowned, rubbing his chin in thought. "So that means that it was an imposter then probably. Interesting…" He shook his head and focused on Gaara again. "What about the invasion? What is the plan and layout?"

Sand began to pour out of Gaara's gourd and collected on the small table nearby. Once it stopped moving, it was in the shape of a small scale Konohagakure. Gaara and Naruto both walked over to look at it, and as Gaara spoke he pointed to certain spots or moved the sand accordingly. "There were four main points to the invasion. The first was at the walls." Three snake figurines made of sand formed and charged at the models walls, knocking them down until Gaara reset the image. "A squad of Suna and Oto shinobi would create various summoning circles and summon several giant snakes to attack the walls and cause general wide spread chaos and destruction. The second would be the stadium."

Gaara waved a hand over the model, and the sand shifted into a model of the stadium where the exams were to be held at. "One of the high ranking Oto spies, undercover amongst the crowd, would perform a powerful genjutsu to place most of the people asleep. When the signal went off…" A cloud of sand shrouded the Hokage box, representing a smoke bomb probably. "Over a dozen Oto squads would rush the still awake shinobi and eliminate them. Of course the Daimyo's and the various other lords would be kidnapped and held for ransom later, or killed should they already have a price on their heads."

Gaara paused, looking over at Naruto. The blonde was completely focused on the sand model, his eyes narrowed and his lips tight. For a few seconds, Gaara could've sworn he saw red in his eyes, but decided to ignore it and resume his explanation. "The third would simply be the main invasion force." The sand once again reformed the village, but this time the buildings had small towers of sand in the shape of flames. "The remaining forces not currently occupied with either summoning or fighting in the arena would fight in the streets and wipe out villagers and Konoha shinobi not in the arena."

"And then you step up…" Naruto muttered. Gaara nodded, and with one final wave of his hand the sand created a giant tanuki that stood in the center of a destroyed Konohagakure. It even seemed to be laughing, showing its insanity as it crushed buildings with its claws and tail. "I would head toward the center of the village around 20 minutes after the invasion began and unleash Shukaku. With my assistance, the invasion would quickly end, with Oto and Suna victorious."

"Hmm…" The sand slowly crept back into Gaara's gourd and the two stood there in silence. Naruto muttered a few words under his breath, but otherwise remained quiet. Gaara didn't bother to do anything as he waited, simply being patient as his new found friend thought over the plan. A curious expression came over Naruto's face and he looked over at Gaara. "At the beginning, you said 'were'. Does that mean the plan has changed?"

Gaara nodded. "The original plan was to start the invasion during my match, but now it will begin once a winner is declared for the exams. In addition, my fa…the imposter Kazekage, will not be fighting the Hokage, I will. He will be leading the main invasion force, and the arena will be attacked with a genjutsu and nothing else."

"But not even you could win against the old man. He may be old, but he's still 'The Professor' and the Sandaime Hokage. He obtained both of those titles for a reason." Naruto sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Before, the invasion seemed to have a good chance of succeeding, since I doubt anyone could've predicted my team showing up. But now the center point where all of the more powerful jonin are focused at is being ignored, and the Hokage himself seems to have been disregarded…" Naruto sighed again. "Oto and Suna will lose, badly!"

"I suspect…that whoever is leading this invasion, and whoever is impersonating the Kazekage, is no longer concerned with destroying Konoha." Naruto looked at Gaara and raised an eyebrow. "Not the main concern? That's unexpected, but why…" Naruto trailed off, a new thought arising in his head. He smacked his forehead. "Of course, it's Orochimaru! He's supposedly the leader of Otogakure, so I don't put it past him to kill your father and impersonate him to destroy Konoha. And, back in the second half of the exams, I found him trying to bite Sasuke-teme in the forest. I stopped him of course, but I bet since he failed in doing so he's now using this invasion to fulfill whatever it was he was trying to do in the forest."

"Why does he want the Uchiha?" asked Gaara.

"He probably wants the Sharingan, since that's why he attacked my sensei a while back. But I don't remember him having to bite sensei's neck to use his immortality jutsu…" Naruto shook his head. "But that doesn't matter. What matters now is what you're going to do now Gaara. You have given me plenty of information to help Konoha prepare for the invasion, even if it was cutting it close with how soon the exams will begin again. But…what are you going to do? Fight Suna, or us?"

"…" Gaara slowly walked past Naruto and used a nearby window to look at Konoha. "I will assist Konoha and you in fighting off this invasion. I have already denounced my alliance with Suna inside my mind, this will merely add to this declaration once it becomes public knowledge." Gaara looked over his shoulder at Naruto. "What is it you require of me?"

Naruto smirked and walked over to Gaara, slinging one arm over the red head's shoulders. "Well…I guess we'll figure all of that out once I go grab my teammates and we all head over to the old man's office. We'll discuss our plans there and…" Naruto shrugged, but his smirk never wavered. "We kick the Hebi's butt all the way back to his snake hole. And one last thing Gaara…Could you please cut it out with the whole 'Uzumaki' thing? Just call me Naruto, we are friends after all."

Gaara smiled. "Okay…Naruto."

XXXXX

The final week of training was anything but. With the help of Gaara's information, Naruto and his teammates, along with the Hokage and Jiraiya, planned a counterstrike that would destroy the invasion before it could deal too much damage upon the village. It took the entire week, but in the end it was finally completed, and everything was ready for Orochimaru's attack. During all of this, Temari and Kankuro had suddenly changed allegiance in the attack and tried to help, but Gaara persuaded them to keep quiet and do nothing until the invasion began. When Naruto had learned of this, he had smiled and said nothing when anyone asked why he was.

Now Naruto and his team were walking toward the stadium, the crowd within already cheering on some of the contestants that were there early. Sasuke was also walking with them, having narrowly escaped Kakashi earlier so that the jonin would not make him late to his own match.

"Good to finally see you again teme. So what did you do for the whole month anyway?" asked Naruto, his hands resting on the back of his head. Sasuke smirked, titling his head slightly toward Naruto to look even smugger. "You think I'll actually tell you about what I learned, especially since we might be fighting soon?" He said. "Nice try, but I'm not revealing anything until my fight."

Naruto cursed and crossed his arms, pouting slightly. Hinote giggled at his actions, while Uindo merely smiled. Soon they entered the arena, and the already loud cheers of the crowd suddenly doubled without the walls of the arena to muffle them. The four of them glanced up at the stands, awed at the sheer number of people having come to watch them fight. Up in the Hokage box, Sarutobi and the Kazekage slowly entered and took their respective seats. When Naruto noticed this, he looked at the Kazekage and narrowed his eyes. But that quickly changed when the Kazekage locked eyes with Naruto and nodded. Naruto smiled, but it had a little worry in it.

"Gaara is in position, be sure you two are ready to go as well." Naruto whispered to Uindo and Hinote. The two also looked at the Hokage box, but didn't bother to wait for Gaara to acknowledge them since Hayate was silencing the crowd and motioning for the contestants to approach him. He coughed, before holding out a closed scroll in one hand. "Now then, due to the final match of the preliminary, all of you were unable to find out the match-ups." Many glanced at Naruto, who was at least considerate enough to mumble an apology and look sheepish.

"Therefore, if you will direct your :Cough: attention to this scroll, you will find out the line-up." Hayate unrolled the scroll, and all the chuunin wannabe's leaned in to take a good look at it.

_Match 1: Uindo vs. Temari_

_Match 2: Naruto vs. Kankuro_

_Match 3: Sasuke vs. Hinote_

_Match 4: Neji vs. Lee_

_Match 5: Shikamaru vs. Winner of Match 4_

"Now then, will all the contestants except Temari and Uindo please leave the arena floor and head to the designated waiting box?" Slowly the genin all left, leaving Temari and Uindo in the center of the arena across from each other. Temari pulled her fan off from her back, slamming the tip of it into the ground. Uindo simply stood there, hands in his pocket and looking laid back. But his eyes told another story, as they were narrowed and focused on Temari alone, glowing green from time to time. Hayate looked between the two, before coughing and raising his hand. "Are contestants ready?" Temari and Uindo nodded, the latter winking at the now slightly blushing former. "Then let the first match of the finals…Begin!"

Wind began to build around Temari as she opened her fan. When the third and final moon appeared, she lifted the giant fan and gathered the wind around it. Uindo merely removed one hand from his pockets and tapped the seal on his back. A smaller handheld fan appeared, and he opened it and held it in front of his face. Seeing the obvious challenge, Temari swung her fan and yelled, **"Kamaitachi no Jutsu!"**

Blades of wind formed within the powerful gust her fan made and charged toward Uindo with the intent of slicing him to bits. However he did not run, instead raising his smaller fan slightly and waving it. **"Kaze Geashi!"** A small whirlwind formed in front of him, and when the blades of wind struck it they were merely absorbed into it. Uindo smirked, enjoying the stunned expression on Temari's face. He closed his fan, the almost inaudible snap catching her attention. "Well now, that was an impressive jutsu Temari-chan! But please don't hold back, it wouldn't do for me to win when you're not even at 100 percent." He flashed his teeth in a big smile. "Of course, I am being a little mean I suppose by using a fan like you are, but I am very skilled in using it and I will be taking you seriously. Besides, my jutsu just now requires a weapon…so what better one to use then a fan?"

Temari at first seemed angry, but then a smirk appeared on her lips as she slammed the end of her fan into the ground again. "Well…aren't you the noble fighter, hmm?"

"Well…I do tend to think I am. But, that doesn't mean I don't like to play sometimes when my opponent is going to lose."

Instead of growing angry at the jab, Temari simply tapped the first moon on her fan. A large amount of charka suddenly released itself from the moon and was absorbed into Temari, who lifted her fan again and prepared to swing it. "So you like to play do ya? Well whaddya know…I like to play too pretty boy."

XXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:** This is a revised edition of Chapter 6. I hope you enjoyed it! (Any previous Author Notes of revised chapters no longer exist)


	7. Chapter 7

"Normal Speech"

_-Thoughts-_

**"Demon Speech"**

**"Jutsu!"**

XXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 7: The Wind Masters Clash and Puppets Break

"**Kamaitachi!"**

"**Kaze Geashi!"**

"**Kamaitachi!"**

"**Kaze Geashi!"**

"**Kamaitachi!"**

"Oh, come on! **Kaze Geashi!"**

An explosion of wind and chakra blew through the arena after Temari and Uindo's latest bout of clashes. The wind in fact was so fierce that it even formed several cracks within the walls of the stadium. Uindo and Temari ignored the fierce winds, simply staring each other down from amongst the clouds of dust that obscured most of the field and their vision. Uindo vanished behind one completely, and Temari responded by blasting the area to her right with another wind jutsu. Uindo simply canceled the attack with his own jutsu, and again he moved to attack. Temari screamed in anger this time, swinging her fan numerous times at Uindo to hopefully overwhelm him. Uindo simply created an even larger whirlwind this time to absorb the additional attacks.

"Damn it! Stop defending and attack for once you coward!" Temari screamed, adding on another wind blast at the end of her words for emphasis. Uindo groaned, cancelling the attack again as he moved away. "I would Temari-chan, but you are being really stupid! Could you please use a new attack or something? Otherwise I doubt anything is going to change very soon." Uindo replied.

Temari's cheeks burned red as she slammed her fan closed and reached into her shuriken pouch. "Fine, since you insist you…you…you asshole!" When she removed her hand, she had a handful of shuriken in it. But instead of throwing them at Uindo, she threw them all into the air, not even caring to make sure they flew correctly. She went into her pouch again for more shuriken, and once they were also in the air, she opened her fan to the first moon and pointed it at the now falling shuriken.

"**Shuriken no Mai!"**

The shuriken paused for a moment, as if something was holding them in place. But just as quickly as they froze they began to fall again, this time looking as if they had been thrown correctly. As they closed in on Temari, Uindo's eyes widened when he saw them swerve to avoid hitting Temari and charged straight at him. He dodged, gaining only a few scratches and cuts on his arms. He didn't hear the sound of shuriken hitting anything behind him, but still he turned to Temari and smiled. "Well…that was new, but disappointing. What was so special about that to be a dance Temari-chan?"

The sound of shuriken flying through the air, along with Temari's smirk, made Uindo reconsider his words. Cuts and gashes ran up his arms and back as he rolled to avoid the shuriken from behind, his fan now discarded on the ground in his haste, and as he recovered he saw them all bank in midair and fly back at him again. Two kunai appeared from his seal and he grabbed them both, blocking and deflecting the shuriken. But while they did fall to the ground or were sent flying, a strong gust of wind picked them all up again and they formed up again around Temari. She laughed, and with a wave of her fan she sent them back again at him.

_-I see… -_ Strands of hair went flying as Uindo barely avoided having a shuriken cut off his ear. _–She's using her advanced control over wind, aided by her fan and probably a seal on the shuriken, to keep them moving. –_ Metal clashed again metal as Uindo blocked three shuriken from embedding themselves into his chest. _–But she's just standing there, and the shuriken always take too long to turn. If I get close, I can probably attack her and make her run from her own shuriken as they follow me! –_

He glanced to where he last saw Temari at, and tensed as he saw she was no longer standing there. A yell, followed by a growing shadow over him, made him roll to avoid Temari as she slammed her closed fan down where he had been like a club. She dug her feet in, and twirled the fan around to knock Uindo away. He rolled, a small snap from his ribs indicating one had broken, and as he stood again he screamed in pain as one shuriken managed to lodge itself in his shoulder. Temari gave him no chance to pull it out though and she closed in, fan above her head before she slammed it down mere inches from Uindo. What followed was Uindo moving on the defensive, pushing himself to avoid the shuriken and Temari's powerful attacks.

Suddenly Temari jumped back, and the shuriken followed her as well. She opened her fan slightly to the first moon again, and with a quick wave she summoned more wind to propel the shuriken with. Uindo took this strange pause to remove the shuriken from his shoulder, and groaned as he saw it rejoin its fellow metal stars in the air. _–Shuriken to keep me from attacking her and cause accumulative damage, and her own powerful attacks to inflict the real damage. She's got things pretty well covered, but this is merely a small annoyance for a skilled shinobi, and she knows that. –_ Uindo smiled as he thought up a new strategy. _–Well then, since this fight just got interesting again, I guess it's time to up the action a little. –_

XXXXX

"Your sister is not only brutal, but skilled as well Kankuro." Naruto said. Kankuro looked over at the blonde, a small smirk on his face. "Duh, but when you're not only the daughter of the Kazekage but Gaara's sister, did you expect anything else?" He asked.

Naruto laughed, shaking his head slightly to show he didn't. "So who are you betting on to win?"

"Temari, there's no way he'll be able to outsmart her, especially after all the preparations she went through during the last month."

"Oh I wouldn't count on that Kankuro. Never underestimate me or my brother, if you know what's good for you." said Hinote, munching on a dango stick as she leaned on the railing. "We traveled for years before ever joining Akatsuki and Kazegakure. Being so young, out in the world, you learn quickly to stay several steps ahead of anything that you might encounter." She frowned, spitting out the now empty dango stick before grabbing another to munch on. "Not to mention, when you have our sensei, you get strong…fast."

Kankuro seemed nervous for a second, but then he simply huffed and crossed his arms. "Hmph, there's still no way he's a match for my sister."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, and after looking over at Hinote, they both grinned and stretched out a hand toward Kankuro. "Want to bet?" They both said at once. Kankuro shivered as he noticed the slight gleam in their eyes, and this time it wasn't the normal red glow that sometimes came from Hinote's.

XXXXX

Back in the arena, Uindo dodged another combo from the shuriken and Temari. The shuriken banked, and using the small pause in the attacks Uindo tapped the seal on his back. Wires suddenly shot out from it, and as the final piece came out another cloud of smoke revealed several kunai attached to the wires. Uindo channeled chakra into the wires, and they all began to float with the kunai posed to strike. **"Shoshuha! Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**

The wires remained the same mostly, but the tips suddenly split to accommodate the now massive amount of kunai that rested on the end of each wire. Uindo waved one hand, twitching his fingers slightly as well, and the kunai attached to that hand attacked Temari. Instead of running, she waved her fan and sent the shuriken out in front of her, the metal stars deflecting the real kunai and destroying the clones. But many of them dropped out of the jutsu's wind, and Uindo used the decreased numbers to launch his second hand of kunai. Temari this time launched a gust of wind, causing the kunai to crash into each other and prevent anymore shuriken being knocked off. The remaining shuriken inside the jutsu, now only numbering at a large handful, returned to circle Temari. Their numbers quickly returned to normal once Temari swung her fan at the ground, causing the shuriken there to rise up and join their brethren.

"So you tired to get rid of my shuriken huh?" Temari said. "Well too bad, I can just keep bringing them back in every time. So it's rather pointless, wouldn't you agree pretty boy?"

Uindo smiled, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah well…I was kinda hoping I could end the jutsu, but I guess that plan failed." He lowered his hand and grabbed hold of his swords hilt. His smile now had a mischievous edge to it, and his eyes glowed green for a moment. "So I guess it's time to go to the real dance then!" And with those words, Uindo vanished.

"W-What the hell?!" Temari stuttered. She tensed and slammed her now fully open fan into the ground in front of her, even moving the shuriken to defend her sides and back. She scanned the arena, hoping to catch Uindo in her sights before the other blonde could attack. A faint clink of metal hitting the ground made her look behind herself, just in time to see a second shuriken suddenly drop to the ground as well. _–Impossible! The seals and carrier winds should still have a few more minutes to go, why are they suddenly dropping? –_

More and more shuriken began to fall, slowly increasing in speed until all of them lay on the ground. Temari cautiously kneeled to pick one up, and to her shock she found that the seal had been smeared enough by someone else's blood to ruin the chakra flow. Now completely alert, she lifted her fan up from the ground and swung it as wide as possible all around herself. The fierce chakra infused winds cut the grass and trees lining the arena, but no blood or screams of pain rang out in the arena. A small army of clones appeared across the arena, each looking incredibly unstable with their bodies almost completely see-through. They all resembled Uindo, but their forms were more like mist or the heat waves on a hot day. One more clone appeared, but whether it was the real Uindo in disguise or just a fake out was unknown since it too resembled the other clones. It smiled, the wavering chakra that made its face causing the smile to look like a squiggled line.

"**Makaze: Enka!"** said Uindo, his voice projected around the arena with a jutsu. The last clone that had appeared looked as if it was the one talking, but Temari was not fooled. "A nifty little trick I made up over the month of training. Can you guess who the real one is Temari-chan?" He chuckled, all of the clones imitating his actions this time. "Or will time run out for you and I end it?"

The clones all snapped their fingers, and they vanished. They re-appeared seconds later, but in different positions. No fingers were snapped this time, but still they vanished and re-appeared again like last time. Over and over this went on, each clones looking calm and smiling as it simply stood in whatever spot they appeared at. Temari whirled around and around, looking at each of the clones as she hoped to find the real one. She reached out with her senses to try and find his chakra signature, but nothing appeared. She attacked one nearby, but all it did was break apart for a few seconds before reforming and resuming its vanishing trick.

Temari finally grew tired and frustrated with all of this, and with a scream she raised her fan and channeled chakra into it. **"Ninpo: Kamaitachi!"**

Blades of wind swept over the arena floor, the wind and chakra blades visible from the sheer amount she had put into her attack. They easily cut through the clones, but once they died off the clones reformed and resumed their cycling. She threw another blast of wind, but the results were the same. She screamed in frustration and let her anger get the best of her, launching wave after wave of jutsu's in a wild attempt of catching Uindo unexpectedly.

Uindo's laughter rang out through the arena. "Come on Temari-chan! Stop acting so hasty and actually try to find me! Don't let anger cloud your mind!" His laughter continued.

The fan slammed into the ground with enough force to form small cracks in the ground. "SHUT UP!" screamed Temari. She tapped the second moon on the fan, and suddenly another huge burst of chakra flowed into her, this one easily twice as much as the first one. She closed her fan, and with a small pulse of chakra from her feet she jumped high into the air. At the pinnacle of her jump she opened her fan, swinging it directly at the ground below. **"Futon: Daikamaitachi!"**

What seemed like a muffled explosion shook the arena as a huge wall of wind slammed down onto the arena floor below. Giant blades of wind tore the ground apart, and the few trees still standing were now decimated. The crowd screamed in surprise as debris blew all the way to the back rows of the seats. Temari however ignored all of this as she stepped onto the top of her fan and slowly floated down. When she landed she closed her fan and leaned against it, taking huge gulps of air as she slowly recovered from the huge amount of chakra used in her last jutsu.

_-Heh, no way he survived that. It's too bad though, he was kinda cute, and definitely a challenging guy to fight with. –_ The heat in her cheeks made Temari furiously stomp down her rogue thoughts. Slowly she pushed off from her fan, her breathing now back to normal, and looked around the arena. It was just as horribly ruined as she had seen it high in the air, but from this vantage point she could also see the cut marks in the arena walls where her jutsu had hit. She smirked. "Too bad pretty boy, I win."

XXXXX

"Wow…" Kankuro gulped and wiped some of the sweat that had gathered on his forehead. It had been pretty dangerous standing so close to the railing after Temari's last attack and he had barely managed to not get cut up by the chakra blades. "I've never seen her get so pissed off before, not even with me. There's no way your teammate survived that Naruto. Sorry…"

"Geez, what the hell's that girl's problem? She didn't have to go and kill the guy…" muttered Shikamaru. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "So troublesome…" Neji and Lee glanced at each other, and with a quick nod Neji activated his Byakugan. "There's nobody in the arena except for her. Not even underground…" Neji frowned and narrowed his eyes. "Strange…" _–There is nobody besides her, but then where is… -_

Everyone turned to look at Hinote as she suddenly giggled. She was in fact humming a quiet tune to herself and chewing on another dango stick, seemingly unbothered by her brother's death. Besides her, Naruto was sitting against the railing on the ground, a steaming cup of ramen in his hands and noodles already on his chopsticks. He wasn't even looking at the arena and was simply enjoying his sudden meal.

Kankuro sweatdropped, freaked out slightly by the two and their calm actions toward Uindo's death. "Oi…you did hear me, right? Your teammate's dead ya know…Hello?!" The two of them simply continued eating, Naruto now enjoying a second ramen cup from nowhere. "Would you two stop eating for a second?"

Hinote and Naruto responded at last, looking over at everyone else in the box. They blinked in surprised at the looks they were receiving, and then glanced at each other. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, they resumed their eating, which made everyone sweatdrop. Naruto moved to lean against the railing so that he could look down at the arena.

"So Hinote, want to raise the bet?" Naruto asked.

"Nah, I still say he'll win in two minutes. Do you want to change yours Naruto?" Hinote asked.

"Hmm…well ten minutes is a bit too long. How about…five minutes?"

"Sure, but you'll only win half if you win in that case."

"That's fine with me."

With yet another synchronized event everyone except Hinote and Naruto face faulted. Naruto laughed under his breath and gulped down the last of the broth in his cup. With a second bowl now finished, he casually glanced up into the sky with an amused expression on his face.

XXXXX

The silence within the arena was broken as Hayate landed back into the arena, having dived out of the arena when the battle got a little too extreme. Temari turned toward the proctor, a puzzled expression on her face despite her obvious victory. "Proctor, I suggest you simply call this match. If by some miracle he survived then he's going to need a lot of medical treatment within the next few minutes, or else he really will die." She said.

Hayate didn't respond to Temari's request at first. He scanned the arena, and indeed there seemed to be no trace of Uindo anywhere in the destruction that was the arena. For a final measure, he expanded his senses and searched underground, but still nothing could be found. Coughing, he slowly raised his hand. "Since Uindo is…no longer fighting…I therefore declare Temari…"

"Oi, how about opening you eyes a little more huh?"

Temari froze at the familiar voice, echoing around the arena in all directions. _–Impossible! He should be dead! I never even saw his body! –_ Her own thoughts betrayed her as she realized the mistake she had made. Gripping her fan tightly, she scanned the arena. _–Stupid, if there's no body then there's no way he's dead! I can't believe I made such a simple mistake! –_

"Well I must say Temari-chan that was an impressive attack. I guess I should use one now too, it's only fair after all."

A gentle breeze slowly grew within the arena, and inside of it a beautiful song began to play. At first it was unrecognizable, but gradually as the wind and the tune grew louder the instrument became recognizable. It was a violin, and everyone knew that it had to be Uindo playing it. It grew louder and louder, until only the now fierce winds whipping across the arena were louder than it. The tune was gentle, but it grew faster and faster, bringing images of a merry dance to Temari's mind. One note was held, echoing across the arena and seemingly causing the wind to still and focus itself on something.

Uindo's voice then rang out in the arena again, calm and full of humor. "I'm a leaf in the wind, watch how I soar."

The song resumed fully, but this time it brought images of a swordsman as he flowed through stances and increased his speed in performing them. A small whirlwind full of leaves formed around Temari, and before she could stop it the wind picked her up and began pulling her higher and higher into the air. Sometime during the climb she felt her fan be blown away from her, but the dizzying spin of the whirlwind was forcing her on simply keeping her stomach in check and the contents of it within her body. She felt a jerk in the winds, and suddenly she stopped climbing and was simply floating in the air. As she opened her eyes, having closed them to further keep control over her stomach, she saw that the leaves were still inside the whirlwind around her. The words Uindo spoke next made her pale, and the glow that covered all the leaves didn't help either.

"**Konoha Shuriken!"**

His violin descended down the scale, and in harmony with the music the leaves all hardened with chakra and became as sharp as the metal stars they were replacing. They dived at Temari, cutting into her clothing so much that her chest plate was gone in minutes and the cloth underneath barely surviving as well. The whirlwind began rotating her again during the assault, and because of this she lost more blood then she would have normally due to the powerful rotation. In what seemed like forever to Temari the leaves suddenly stopped, and the whirlwind shrunk until it was only wrapped around her waist. She could hear the violin's tune slow, becoming reminiscent of a sad song.

Something tapped her on the shoulder, and when the wind turned her around in response she gasped in surprise. There stood Uindo, standing perfectly still in the air with his violin slowly being played in his hands. The small and faint blue glow of chakra covering his feet was the only sign of what he was doing to stay suspended, but even then it baffled Temari as to how he was performing it with such seeming ease. As she locked eyes with the other blonde, she barely took notice of the now solid green eyes he had through all the blood and muffled thoughts of her blood deprived mind. A further look would have revealed that the green was really and literally everywhere, the whites, the pupils, and irises of the eyes.

"How…" She whispered. "How are you doing this? It's…Impossible!"

Uindo smiled, and again he slowed down his playing. The end was coming for his song, and Temari briefly wondered what its end would mean for her and this battle. After all, the violin obviously held some key role in all that Uindo was now doing, and if the tune reflected what was done…

"It's actually surprisingly easy Temari-chan. You just need to have the right thing." Uindo chuckled. "But I'm afraid you won't be getting any more answers for now, after all it wouldn't benefit me in the following matches. It would reveal my secrets, and ruin the fun of trying to figure it all out for my opponent." His eyes began to revert back to their normal blue, and he glanced down at the waiting box. Naruto smiled and waved up at Uindo, a third cup of ramen in his hand. "Of course, if Naruto or my sister is my opponent, then I guess all the fun is left to just the audience and you."

The song came to an abrupt stop, and in a puff of smoke his violin changed into his sword. Uindo sheathed it, and that's about when Temari realized that the whirlwind around her was now gone completely. Uindo smirked, a mischievous glint in his eyes, and he waved. "Bye Temari-chan!"

Temari screamed, the wind whipping around her as the arena closed in down below. She clenched her hands, but it was only then that she finally realized she had indeed lost her fan. The crowd screamed, fearful of what might happen to her if she impacted the ground. Nothing seemed to be appearing to save her from that fate, and everyone grimly knew this. However, with now only a few seconds remaining before striking the ground, Temari felt something suddenly grab her by the waist and halt her descent. Still badly shaken from the fall, and the huge amount of blood that was missing from her body, she drifted off into blissful unconsciousness as the fact she was now safe registered in her mind.

Uindo smiled, carefully adjusting his grip on Temari, as he slowly finished his slow descent to the ground. The chakra covering his feet disappeared and his eyes finished their return to normal blue. "Well, I never expected her to actually faint like this. Never did strike me as that kind of girl to do so." He chuckled and turned to Hayate, who was trying to pull his jaw up from the ground. Uindo opened his mouth to speak, but the kunai at his neck made him pause and look down instead. Temari seemed to recover fast, for it was indeed her who was holding the kunai, shakily but all the same.

"I may have fainted, but don't think it means this fight is over." She muttered. She was obviously very tired judging from how strained her words were. "Just forfeit Uindo, there's no way you can win now."

"Well…no." Uindo deadpanned. "You see Temari-chan I still have two more tricks up my sleeve for this match." Carefully, so as to not provoke Temari into cutting his throat, he moved one hand to point to some of the falling leaves from his whirlwind that was only now reaching the ground. "Those leaves still hold my chakra within them, except now it's all focused into something a little more…explosive. Try anything, and they'll detonate."

"Y-You're bluffing!" Temari stuttered. "That means y-you'll get caught in the blast too!"

"Actually…that's my second trick." Uindo this time didn't bother to be cautious, he simply moved Temari around so she was now standing besides him with one arm wrapped around her waist for support. She squeaked in surprised, but as she moved to cut him, she noticed his free hand was pointing straight up. Her face paled as she realized what it meant, and looking up she paled even more and cursed under her breath. Uindo waved down at her, his fully green eyes and glowing feet showing him to no doubt be the real Uindo and the one near Temari simply a clone.

"I am merely a Kage Bunshin, a handsome one at that too." said the now revealed clone. "I'll just simply be dispelled by the explosion, and you'll probably die because of the condition you're in Temari-chan." The clone now fully looked at Temari. "I suggest you simply surrender so that the real Uindo can help you get back into the waiting box and recover from all of this."

Temari looked between the two Uindo's, gauging the level of screwed she was in this fight. Locking eyes with the clone, she finally resigned herself to having lost. With a sigh, and a small blush from realizing how the two of them were now standing, she said, "Fine…I surrender. But you owe me for letting you win like this."

The clone simply smiled in response and signaled to the real Uindo to come down. Once the real Uindo was safely on the ground, the clone disappeared and Temari screamed, having lost her balance with the clone gone. She fell forward, and right into the waiting arms of Uindo. Her small blush grew tremendously fast, especially when Uindo whispered into her ear. "My Temari-chan, I didn't know you were so openly affectionate like this."

Temari growled, and her hands tightened their grip slightly on his shoulders. Chuckling, Uindo turned to Hayate. "My opponent has surrendered proctor, so I believe the match is finally over."

Hayate smirked and raised his hand. "Very well then, since Temari has surrendered, I declare Uindo the winner of the first match."

The crowd's response was diverse, ranging from cheers to stunned silence. Uindo didn't pay any attention to them, as he was carefully lifting Temari up so he could carry her back to the waiting box. She seemed angry with his actions, but said nothing out loud in protest. Several medics approached to treat their wounds, but Uindo waved them off and explained how he was fine and Temari merely needed some rest from her blood loss. When they left, Uindo decided to start up a conversation to break the silence between them. "Well that was fun Temari-chan. Sorry about hurting you so much, I guess I should've stopped the spinning since you lost so much blood because of it.

Temari muttered something in reply, but with her face buried into his shirt he couldn't really hear what she had said. Uindo simply smiled and adjusted his grip, earning a surprised squeak from Temari as his hand rubbed her ass. "But I was wondering…what did you do with those moons on your fan? Both times when you tapped one, you suddenly got a huge boost of chakra, and the second had to at least be twice as large as the first."

Temari didn't respond at first, probably conflicted over revealing her secret to Uindo. Or maybe it was the fact that Uindo had touched her ass, unintentionally of course since carrying her bridal style like he was could lead to that happening. She shifted in his grip, lifting her blushing face from his chest. "Wind masters in Suna are usually given special weapons in honor of them gaining their title. Mine has the ability to store my own chakra into each of the moons, and each moon can easily hold twice as much as the one before it." She muttered.

"Ah, now it makes sense. That's pretty useful too, since most Futon jutsu's use up a lot of chakra." Uindo smiled down at her. "Not only smart, but beautiful as well. It's definitely a deadly and amazing combination with you Temari-chan. I like it!"

"Sh-Shut up! I didn't…didn't need you telling me something I…I already knew." She stuttered in reply.

Uindo at this point finally seemed to realize the something was off with Temari. Unfortunately he was a little too dense to realize exactly what, or the fact that he was causing it. "What's the matter? Are you sick or something? Your face is all red, and you're burning up too!"

"…Baka." Temari giggled.

XXXXX

Up in the waiting box, and argument was underway.

"Alright Naruto pay up, he won in two minutes like I said he would." Hinote said, holding out her hand to accept her payment.

"Are you nuts?! That took just over three minutes, so technically neither of us win!" Naruto replied, crossing his arms defiantly.

"Tsk, you're so picky Naruto. Just admit you lost already why don't you!"

"Ha! I never lose a bet!"

Hinote didn't reply to that, knowing that Naruto was technically correct in that regard. Nevertheless it didn't stop her from pouting cutely, something Sasuke took note of absentmindedly. Before anything else could happen, the door at the far end of the waiting box opened and Uindo walked in, Temari still in his arms. He had a huge grin on his face and Temari blushed again as she realized everyone was looking specifically at her. Kankuro rushed over to them, a concerned expression on his face. "Temari, are you alright?"

"Don't worry, she's just fine. All she needs is a little rest and time to recover from the blood loss." Uindo's expression suddenly became puzzled. "Although…I think she might be getting a fever or something. She keeps heating up from time to time, and her face gets all red too." Shifting his grip slightly, Uindo once again rubbed Temari's ass by accident, earning a surprised squeak from the girl. Everyone sweatdropped as they noticed Temari's blush become even more red if possible.

_-Baka, he's a great fighter and a loyal friend… -_ Naruto sighed. _–But when it come to girls and their feelings he's still as innocent and thick headed as I used to be. –_ A dreamy expression suddenly came over Naruto's face as he thought back to the past.

_-You can be so silly at times bro… -_ thought Hinote.

After carefully handing Temari over to Kankuro, Uindo made his way over to Hinote and Naruto. Smiling once more, he wrapped an arm around Naruto's shoulder and looked at Hinote. "So how did you guys like my fight? Was it thrilling enough?"

Hinote smile reassuringly at Uindo, but then pouted and glared at Naruto. "Naruto refused to pay me. We made a bet on how long it would take you to win after you started using Makaze, and I won."

"Hey! You said two minutes, I said five, and he took three!" Naruto shrugged off Uindo's arm and pointed at Hinote. "That means neither of us win, and I don't have to pay you!" Hinote and Naruto suddenly fell into another argument over who won the bet, while Uindo simply stood nearby with an amused expression on his face.

"What a bunch of idiots." Neji muttered. Besides him, Lee's fist was raised and tears were running in streams down his face. "SUCH A BEAUTIFUL AND YOUTHFUL FRIENDSHIP THEIR TEAM HAS! YOSH!" He suddenly turned to Neji and smiled, his teeth shining and his hand rose in a thumbs up. "NEJI, ETERNAL RIVAL! LET US TRY TO BE AS YOUTHUL AS THEM BY ARGUING SUCH AS THEY ARE!" A tick mark formed on Neji's head as he slowly stepped away from his loud, nutty, green spandex wearing teammate.

Back with the Kaze trio, Uindo turned from watching his two teammates argue and walked over to Kankuro and Temari again. Seeing the other blonde approach, Temari's blush, which had faded to a slight rosy hue on her cheeks, returned in full force. Uindo however didn't see this and instead addresses Kankuro. "So Kankuro, once the repair work on the arena is done, your match will be up next." Uindo motioned toward Naruto behind him. "What are you going to do?"

"Uh…" Kankuro glanced between Uindo and Naruto several times, a nervous expression on his face. "I…I don't know. After seeing that match of yours…"

Uindo chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh yeah, I guess after a performance like that anyone would feel a little nervous about fighting my teammates. Naruto beating Gaara doesn't help either, does it?"

Uindo sweatdropped as he realized his words were not helping the situation at all. "Uh…well…" An idea suddenly popped into his head and he snapped his fingers. "I know! How about I make you a deal?"

"Make me a deal? What are you talking about?"

"Yeah, a deal…give me a second…" Uindo tapped the seal on his shirt, and in twin clouds of smoke two scrolls appeared behind him. Grabbing them both, he held them up in front of Kankuro. "Alright here's my deal. Over the years, mostly from an ex-partner of mine, I've come to acquire several…interesting puppets, all of which I'm sure you'd love to have. If you go fight Naruto and not back down, then once it's over I'll give you one to keep. In addition, which ever of these two…" He waved the scrolls a little for emphasis. "…that you pick, I'll give to you right now to use in your fight."

Kankuro raised an eyebrow at the strange deal Uindo was giving him, but nevertheless he looked over the two scrolls to make his pick. After all, what kind of puppet used would he be if he missed a chance to acquire a unique puppet like the one's Uindo claimed he had?

The one in Uindo's left hand had no real special features on it, the edges of the scroll a solid blood red line running along the entirety of it. In the center of the scroll, a red scorpion insignia was facing the outside, a red diamond outline surrounding it. The scroll in Uindo's right hand however was much more interesting, if only in terms of its appearance. An intricate web of black and silver ran along each side. The center of the scroll was blank, but the scroll itself seemed to be made of a tan and sturdier style of scroll paper, worn into a beautiful look by age.

"Are you going to let me see the puppets before I decide?" Kankuro asked, and Uindo shook his head. "Sorry Kankuro, this is all you're gonna see before you use them." Kankuro sighed and looked over the scrolls a second time. This time however his eyes widened as he locked eyes with the scroll in Uindo's left hand. "H-Hold on a minute, that symbol…it's the mark of Sasori no Aka Suna! I've never seen you in Suna before, where did you get that?!"

"It doesn't matter right now." Uindo dismissed Kankuro's question with a wave of his hand, ironically the same one that held the scroll that had excited Kankuro only seconds before. "And don't let his mark on this scroll fool you. Both of these were made by him, and they're just as powerful as the other."

"Err…" Kankuro looked between the two scrolls once more, before grabbing the one with the scorpion on it. "Okay, then this is the one." He nervously glanced at Uindo. "I don't have to win, right? I only have to go out there and fight Naruto, right?

"No, but if you want to have a chance at winning I suggest you use that puppet as well as the one you brought with you."

A light bonk on the head announced Naruto's presence behind Uindo. "Oi, what's the big idea with helping my opponent Uindo?" Naruto asked. He had an amused expression on his face despite his words. Uindo looked over his shoulder and simply stuck out his tongue at Naruto, earning a mock scowl for the other blonde.

Hayate's voice suddenly called out from the arena below. "Now that the repairs are complete, will Kankuro and Naruto Uzumaki please report to the arena?"

Naruto smiled and jumped over the railing, waving goodbye before gravity pulled him down and out of sight. Kankuro carefully put his new scroll away and turned to walk down the stairs, but not before receiving a small hug from Temari for good luck. About halfway down the stairs, Kankuro carefully patted the area where he had placed the scroll. _–A Sasori puppet, and a powerful one at that too. I can only imagine what it will be… -_

XXXXX

Back in the waiting box, Uindo's smile became a frown as he turned to walk over to the railing. Hinote was waiting for him there, and once the two siblings were standing side by side she asked her questions. "It was awful nice of you to help Kankuro like that, especially since he still stands no chance. But…wasn't that puppet…"

"It was." Uindo quickly replied.

"Why did you give it away then?"

"Suna deserves it back, and along with it they'll finally have a few answers to some of their old affairs." Uindo smiled and looked at his sister. "Besides, he's already taught me everything he knows, and he's even said my unique improvements have already made me a better puppet master than he ever was!"

"I guess you're right…" Hinote suddenly giggled and turned to face the arena again, her questioning now over. "I can't wait to see everyone's faces once Kankuro opens that scroll!"

Nearby, Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he thought over all he had overhead from the two.

XXXXX

The crowd talked in hushed words as Kankuro and Naruto stood across from each other in the ring. Apparently the amazing display Uindo's match had given them was still fresh in their minds, and with another Kaze shinobi up to fight they were all eager to see what the mysterious new village would reveal to the world. But the most interested crowd members happened to be the Konoha shinobi, at least those old enough to remember a certain night and the last whiskered blonde to live in their village.

Hayate called the chatter to a halt and raised his hand. "Are both contestants ready?" Kankuro and Naruto nodded, and with a cough, Hayate said, "Then let the second match…Begin!"

Kankuro reached behind himself to the large bandaged package he always carried and slammed it down in front of him. With a quick pull on the wrappings, the bandages fell away to reveal a human sized puppet. Large black spiky hair obscured its face, revealing only three eyes and a hinged jaw filled with razor sharp metal teeth. The large tattered black cloak covered its body, but from its sides six arms stretched out to the side. Kankuro twitched his fingers, and once the chakra strings attached to the puppet it sprang to life, joints clicking and its eyes rolling around in their sockets. All six of its arms rose and pointed at Naruto, who merely stood waiting for Kankuro to finish his preparations.

"Meet my puppet, Karasu!" yelled Kankuro. His fingers twitched, and Karasu charged at Naruto. The hinges of its jaw groaned, and when its mouth opened fully a large set of small tubes shot out and focused on Naruto. Dozens of senbon needles fired out, forcing Naruto to dodge. The puppet followed him, easily turning thanks to the invisible chakra strings guiding it. Two of its arms rose again and aimed their palms at Naruto, and two blades suddenly appeared from the wrists. Karasu stabbed at Naruto, and as he moved to avoid the knives Naruto noted the slight purple sheen the blades had.

_-Poison, a common thing for puppet users to use… -_ thought Naruto. He blocked one of the bladed hands and forcibly shoved it into the other one, damaging the second hand while trapping the first. With a firm kick he sent the puppet back, but it righted itself in mid-air and charged again, this time with the remaining four arms all sporting blades like the first two. Naruto summoned two clones to his side and together they fought off the attacks from Karasu. When one clone was finally dispelled, Naruto and the remaining clone jumped back to gain some space. Karasu was also pulled back to Kankuro's side, the blades slipping back into the wrists of each arm with a wet noise from the poison dripping off them.

_-A puppet is always the most underestimated, yet deadliest foe, since so many secrets can be stuffed into them with the help of seals and other various things. –_ Naruto frowned and dismissed his clone, using the extra knowledge from its perspective to determine his next move. _–Kankuro clearly has full control over all six arms, and can fight with them without pause to move one of them. Which means close range requires clones to keep his attention split. –_ Four clones suddenly formed around Naruto and they charged with kunai in hand.

Karasu shot forward from Kankuro, the arms now sporting blades again. It seemed Kankuro was hesitant to show anymore tricks at the moment, and Naruto was ready to use that to his advantage. Metal clashed when they all met in the center, one clone being dismissed immediately but with two arms disabled like before. Naruto continued this trade off with the puppet, before suddenly pulling his clones back and performing one hand sign. The clones around him disappeared, but the ground under Kankuro buckled as hands shot up to grab him and pull him under. The Naruto clones latched on easily and swung Kankuro at the arena wall, but once he landed a puff of smoke revealed it had been Karasu, the puppet having traded off with its master in a Kawarimi. The brief disturbance of air behind him made Naruto duck, barely missing the punch Kankuro had aimed at his face. He shot up, nailing Kankuro in the chin with his head, and then spun around to grab hold of the dizzied puppet master.

The clicking of wooden joints, followed by the wooden arms wrapped around his chest, made Naruto curse. But then he smirked, and the clone detonated in Karasu's grasp. The puppet, needless to say, was blown to pieces. But once Kankuro emerged from his hiding spot he revealed that the puppet could in a sense regenerate, the various pieces flying back together in front of its master.

"Damn…" Naruto dropped from a tree along the edge of the arena and raised a kunai. Kankuro smirked, and after closing his left hand into a fist Karasu shuddered. Hundreds of blades shout out from all of the joints along Karasu's arms and legs, every one of them dripping with poison. He closed his right hand into a fist, and Karasu jumped into the air as its body began to rotate. The humming of the blades rang out through the arena as Karasu dived toward Naruto, flying close enough to the ground to show the fierce cutting power of its blades as it dug a shallow trench into the earth. Naruto cursed again and dived into the trees, barely missing Karasu as it destroyed the trees themselves. Karasu banked and turned to attack again, but Naruto had already prepared his counter, his hands still in the final hand sign.

"**Futon: Daitoppa!"**

A large funnel of wind formed in front of Naruto and shot toward Karasu. It sent the puppet flying, ending its mad spin of bladed death, and with a loud crack it impacted the wall. A huge crack ran down Karasu's face, and judging by the way its cloak was resting on its body the chest had collapsed slightly in the front.

"Dammit, move Karasu!" shouted Kankuro, twitching his fingers as he forced the puppet to stand. It shuddered as it stood, but within seconds it was standing as if the damage on it didn't exist. He twitched a few more fingers, and Karasu raised all of its hands up, the palms pointed at Naruto. They folded back, and from inside the arms shot out six kunai, each with several hissing exploding tags on them.

The explosions rocked the arena, and the rubble reached as far up as the crowd, making several people cry out or cough from the dust. As the smoke cleared, there was only a large hole in the ground where Naruto had stood. Kankuro's eyes widened. "Shit!"

"**Doton: Retsudotensho!"**

The ground beneath Kankuro dipped downward, and slowly he could feel himself begin to spiral down into the ground like quicksand. He twitched his fingers, and two of the arms along Karasu's left side detached and linked up on the end of the final one. The process also repeated on the right side, and with a click all of the joints on each arm sprouted tiny blades to make the now whip-like arms more deadly. One arm shot out and wrapped around Kankuro, and with careful control he pulled himself out of the ground without cutting himself.

Naruto gave him no time to recover as dozens of clones formed around Kankuro and Karasu, each charging in with kunai or shuriken. The whip arms of Karasu lashed out and destroyed several clones all in one blow while Kankuro used the little amount of taijutsu he could manage with only one free hand to also push back the clones. Three clones jumped high into the air, and once they closed in they detonated, Kankuro and Karasu barely avoiding getting caught in the blasts.

From across the arena, the real Naruto dropped down from a tree again and smiled. "Very nice Kankuro, if you were to fight any normal genin there's no doubt you'd win hands down. Perhaps there are a few chuunin you could take out too. Too bad then that it was me you had to fight huh?"

Kankuro smirked, his earlier nervousness gone amidst the great battle he was fighting in. "Yeah, but I'm not gonna loose without hitting you at least once. There's no way your little clone tricks are gonna protect you for much longer.

Naruto frowned, shifting slightly into his stance. "You want to hit me huh? Well then bring it on!" Kunai appeared out of the seal and into his hands as Karasu's joints clicked with its movements, the two meeting head on in the center of the arena once more.

XXXXX

"You know your brother really is a good puppet master." said Uindo, looking over his shoulder at Temari who had yet to move from the far wall of the waiting box. "Too bad he's fighting Naruto." Temari smiled, but in her eyes Uindo saw a sense of understanding. He smiled. "Ah, and you also see what Naruto's doing too, don't you?"

Temari nodded in confirmation, a shadow of her former blush still on her cheeks whenever she talked with Uindo. "He's playing with Kankuro, but why I don't know just yet." She giggled slightly. "And considering he's basically being played with while using a puppet to fight…it seems somewhat ironic or something."

"I think the answer is quite obvious Temari, just look at the crowd and maybe you'll understand."

Temari raised an eyebrow, but nevertheless she slowly pushed herself up from the wall and moved over to the railing to look at the crowd. After a few moment of looking at all the faces, her face suddenly lit up in realization, followed by a glare she sent at Uindo. Uindo for his part was surprised at the sudden hatred, but luckily she didn't do anything beyond that.

Nearby, Shikamaru sighed and rubbed his forehead. "This is way too troublesome. With all of these powerful opponents, maybe I should just forfeit when my match finally comes up. But then again, Ino would probably kill me for just quitting like that." He sighed again. "Troublesome woman…"

Lee, not one to let anyone sulk, especially if he thought the person was 'Youthful', jumped next to Shikamaru and gave him a thumbs up, his teeth shining. "SHIKAMARU-SAN, DO NOT JUST GIVE UP! TO GIVE UP IS UN-YOUTHFUL FOR SOMEONE WHO IS IN THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH LIKE YOU ARE!" Shikamaru flinched at the volume of Lee's voice, but merely muttered about troublesome green spandex under his breath as a reply.

Back with Uindo and Temari, the kunoichi had finally stopped glaring at Uindo and instead had turned to watch the fight. "So what was that puppet you gave to Kankuro anyway?" she asked.

XXXXX

Karasu groaned as a powerful wind sent it crashing into the arena wall once again, this time with one of its arms completely shattered. Kankuro cursed, but didn't waster any time over the lost appendage as he pulled Karasu back to his side. Naruto and three clones stood on the far side of the arena, each with a handful of shuriken in their hands. Together they let the stars fly, and then they formed a single hand sign.

"**Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**

The shuriken numbers suddenly tripled, and then it seemed as if a wall of metal death was flying toward Kankuro. The puppet master's eyes widened and he dived behind Karasu, silently thinking a farewell to his puppet. The shuriken struck the wooden body with no mercy, Karasu groaning more and more as shuriken punctured it repeatedly. When Kankuro opened his eyes again, he saw several tiny clouds of smoke forming all around him, but the damage was still evident even after the shuriken clones disappeared. Karasu was in ruins, the limbs shattered and the chest broken into unusable pieces. Its head was probably the least unharmed, but that wasn't saying much since one of its three eyes was missing and the jaw was off its hinges.

The cold feel of metal pressed against his throat made Kankuro mutter several curses. Behind him, Naruto smiled apologetically. "Sorry about destroying your puppet Kankuro. I promise I'll pay for it so you can get it repaired after the exams."

Kankuro laughed, carefully making sure he didn't cut himself on the kunai. "Don't worry about it, once I return to Suna I'll be able to completely repair and improve Karasu with my spare parts. In fact, the next time you see it I bet it'll be twice as deadly as it was now."

"Hmm…I suppose…" Naruto removed the kunai from Kankuro's throat and walked in front of the puppet user. With a quick slight of hand, he suddenly had Uindo's scroll in his hands and returned it to Kankuro. "Now then, I suggest you use that. Uindo did give it to you to use, and with it you just might be able to win…maybe."

"Why? You've clearly already won, why do you want me to use this and risk that?"

Naruto smiled, looking very much like a fox from the mischievous look he had on his face. With a casual wave he pointed toward the audience. "For the audience and for the fun I get to have in an otherwise boring competition." He waved toward the waiting box. "You've seen Uindo fight, and obviously since I defeated you and Gaara it's pretty obvious that everyone on my team is stronger than a genin, or a chuunin for that matter. This exam is merely an annoying requirement that we must deal with before becoming chuunin, so why do it while bored to tears? So, things needed to be spiced up a little bit in our fights, and the fact you and your sister are so strong just helps us achieve that. Otherwise, our already held back power and skills would still be too much for the genin."

Naruto turned his back on Kankuro and gazed up at the audience. He continued his little explanation over his shoulder. "And then there's the audience…Feudal lords, various Daimyo's, and powerful businessman have all come here today to see the power that all of our hidden villages hold in our future generations. This, to them at least, is like watching living ads fight for their attention. The better a villages shinobi performs, the more likely that village will suddenly gain an increase in missions, and therefore gain more money for their village. Kazegakure is new, barely out of the rubble that it rose from. This exam will promote our power, and with it the inflow of missions will begin and we'll be able to continue our growth and fulfill our goals."

Kankuro and Naruto remained silent at this, the blonde letting the puppet master think over his words. After a few minutes the crowd began to get restless with neither of them moving, so Naruto turned back to Kankuro again, smiling from a hidden joke. "Plus…the jonin and chuunin up there are throwing bets around like crazy, and who am I to ruin someone's bet despite the fact they're going to obviously lose?"

Looking over Naruto's shoulder and into the audience, Kankuro indeed saw some of the jonin and chuunin betting, and occasional ryo being passed underhand or in plain sight. But he also saw how many were whispering to one another, their eyes never leaving Naruto. Naruto apparently knew of this too, since he frowned slightly and his eyes shifted to the side for a brief moment, becoming red and slit.

"Well then…" Kankuro looked down at the scroll, before standing up and grabbing the edge of it and pulling it open slightly. "I guess I should win for everyone that's betting on me to win huh?"

Naruto laughed. "Nope! Just try to win for yourself, although I doubt you'll win all the same. After all, need I remind you who you're fighting?" Naruto's laughter rang out through the arena. Kankuro's eye twitched slightly at the smug reply, but he decided to simply knock that arrogant attitude out of Naruto by winning.

XXXXX

Uindo smirked as Naruto continued to laugh down in the arena. Turning to Temari, he finally decided to answer her question from earlier. "The scroll contains a very special kind of puppet, a human one. Made from the remains of a human, the chakra coils are left intact and the puppet is able to keep all the skills the dead shinobi once wielded, including bloodlines, and in theory this makes these kinds of puppets the deadliest of them all. The more powerful the shinobi used, the more powerful the puppet is."

"Who would do such a thing?! That's disgusting!" Temari shouted.

"If you were to look into Suna's past, then you'd know it was actually a common thing for the master puppet users to do until 20 years ago, when the last person to do such things left Suna. That person in fact is the most legendary one among all of your other missing-nin. His crimes against the shinobi and people of Suna made many puppet users finally see how dark the practice of making human puppets was. The movement to end human puppet creation was only solidified when the Sandaime Kazekage suddenly vanished, and when the signs pointed to it having been done by the missing-nin I mentioned."

Temari's eyes widened. "The Sandaime?! But he was the greatest Kazekage that Suna ever had. How could anyone have ever captured him, or turned him into a human puppet like you're implying? I mean, he did disappear, but…"

Uindo chuckled. "Clearly you do not understand the cunning mind of the shinobi who did it. He did kidnap the Sandaime Kazekage, and like the puppet users of Suna feared, he turned the man into a human puppet." Uindo tapped his seal and made the second scroll from before appear in his hand. Holding it up toward Temari, he slowly opened it until the various lines of kanji inside could be seen. Amidst all of the smaller scribbles was one very large kanji, the kanji for 'Three'. "And here he is."

Temari stared in shock at the scroll. "T-T-That's th-the S-Sandaime?! H-How did yo-you even get t-this scroll?"

"By defeating its owner of course, the very same missing-nin who had somehow turned himself into a living puppet, and looked no older than when he had left the village, 20 years ago. The very same missing-nin that I sealed away into a scroll..."

"You mean…" Temari turned to the arena below, and paled slightly when she saw Kankuro opening the scroll Uindo had given him. "So…t-that means…"

XXXXX

Kankuro slowly unrolled the scroll and scanned the kanji inside, hoping for a little insight as to what the puppet was before actually summoning it out of the scroll. The only real hint was the large kanji for 'Scorpion' that was circled by all of the sealing kanji. Biting his thumb, he let some blood gather before looking up at Naruto. "Alright then Naruto, let's just see what this new puppet can do."

Naruto laughed in reply. "I should warn you Kankuro, I've heard he's got one hell of a tongue on him once he gets agitated, and he hates a lot of things, so I'd be careful if I were you."

Puzzled with Naruto's words, Kankuro warily looked down at the scroll. But he steeled his nerves and wiped his blood on the kanji all the same, which instantly responded by releasing a large cloud of smoke in front of himself. As the smoke began to clear, Kankuro was surprised by the sudden outburst from within.

"Dammit brat, do you know how long you've kept me in there? I have half a mind to kill you just for making me wait for so long."

Kankuro watched in mixed awe and surprise as the smoke cleared to reveal a young red haired boy. He was at least a foot shorter than Kankuro, and his body was entirely covered in a large black cloak with red clouds on it, the very same robe he'd seen Naruto and his team wear when they first showed up in Konoha. His head was lowered slightly and his body slumped over, as if he couldn't even lift himself up without help. Leaning to the side slightly, Kankuro saw that the boys face was emotionless and his brown eyes seemed glazed over faintly. But that suddenly changed when a small scowl marred his face.

"What's the matter brat? You're usually much more…talkative than this. What is it you require of me now?" said the boy.

Kankuro paused, uncertain as a thought crossed his mind. Slowly, he raised his fingers and reached out with chakra strings toward the boy. He only jumped slightly once his strings suddenly latched on like they would with a puppet, and the boy raised his head in response to his fingers movements. Turning him slightly, Kankuro allowed the boy to see where he was before focusing on Kankuro. The boy merely raised an amused eyebrow at his 'master' and the edges of his lips twitched slightly.

"Hn…so I've been passed on to someone else it seems. That little brat…" The boy, puppet, whatever it was, returned to his normal emotionless look. "So tell me, who might my new…master be?" The word 'master' was spoken with a surprisingly large amount of sarcasm and hatred, which made Kankuro even more nervous in wielding this strange talking puppet.

"I…I'm Kankuro, a puppet master from Suna, and the eldest son of the Yondaime Kazekage." said Kankuro. "Who…what the hell are you? I've never heard of a puppet being able to talk, not even one of Sasori's creations."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "A puppet master from Suna…and the son of the Kazekage…" He chuckled, an almost unnoticeable clicking of wood underneath of it. "That brat still seems to have a dry sense of humor. How about I show you first before I explain?" The boy's eyes gestured toward his cloak, and with a twitch of his fingers Kankuro allowed the puppet to remove it.

The puppet only wore a raggedy pair of brown pants underneath, the top and bottom of each leg tied off with some simple white rope. His body resembled a normal human boy in most regards, but the chest was completely changed. Where his stomach would reside rested a large compartment, a thick metal coil tightly wrapped around inside of it with poison dripping off the spiked tip that stuck out. Above that was a small noticeable skin colored plate on the right side of his chest, and on the left there was a small fist sized hole that had kanji running around and inside of it. On his lower back were two metal wings, the wings sharp and shining in the sunlight. And finally above that was a scroll storage pack, two average looking scrolls secured inside with the final top slot empty.

Kankuro stared in awe at the puppets design. Although it looked mediocre, its unique build seemed to exhume power that rested underneath the surface, and knowing puppets he realized that it could easily be the case with this one. The puppet boy smiled, seemingly pleased that Kankuro was in awe of his own body, his own art. With a bow, shocking Kankuro since he hadn't commanded it to do so, the puppet finally introduced itself. "I…am Sasori no Aka Suna, the greatest puppet master Suna has seen since Monzaemon Chikamatsu first created this fine art."

Naruto almost lost it when he saw how funny Kankuro looked after hearing Sasori's name. Glancing at the said puppet, he saw Sasori was equally amused by the boy's reaction, although with his stoic face it was hard to tell. Kankuro was just simply trying to grasp the situation, especially since deep down he was baffled as to how Sasori was able to make himself a puppet.

"You…y-you're Sasori?!" asked Kankuro. Sasori nodded. "B-But…how…?"

"That is not important at the moment, since it would be wasting my time to explain it. Now what is it you require of me?"

"Um…Err right…I'm kinda in the middles of a fight right now…and um…"

Naruto decided to help Kankuro, since the puppet master seemed a little too stunned still to actually say what he needed to. Plus, he knew how agitated and pissed Sasori becomes when people waste time, especially his own. "Oi, Sasori!" Sasori turned his head, making Kankuro wonder how he was doing that without himself commanding him to do so. Seeing Naruto, Sasori raised an eyebrow. "Hn, so the fox brat is here too. I take it you're this boy's opponent?"

"Yes I am, so I'd appreciate it if you'd be a good little puppet for once and help Kankuro here fight me. Besides, you'll be with him a lot more after this fight. Uindo basically gave you away to Kankuro after all."

"Hn…" Sasori looked back to Kankuro, then at Naruto again. He smirked. "Well…I see no problems with all of this. Perhaps this boy will actually let me out of that infernal scroll more than the other blonde did." Sasori looked back at Kankuro once more. "Boy, just simply keep your chakra strings attached to me, but keep them loose. I will handle this fight for the moment."

Not bothering to question Sasori, Kankuro replied to his command and let his chakra strings become slack. Sasori slumped forward for a moment, before suddenly standing up straight and holding his hands toward Naruto, all by himself. A hidden compartment opened in his palms, and two small pipes appeared from the middle of his hands. The lowest scroll on Sasori's scroll pouch suddenly began to glow, and with it intense flames began to shoot out from the pipes. Naruto dived out of the way, but Sasori simply moved his hands to follow the blonde's movements. Knowing he couldn't keep outrunning the flames, Naruto ran through a few hands signs before slamming the ground with his hands.

"**Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!"**

A slab of earth shot up from in front of Naruto, meeting the flames head on as they tried to burn Naruto. The earth and stone began to glow where the flames met, and with a curse Naruto realized that his defense would not hold at this rate. True to his thoughts, the earth melted and the flames seared him, but by then he had replaced himself with a clone and it was merely dispelled by the flames. Sasori spun around, flames dying for a second before coming to life again as he re-aimed, and a small platoon of clones were incinerated by the hot flames. Three Naruto's suddenly surrounded him, but only one was rushing through hand signs.

"**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!"**

A huge ring of water solidified in the air, before blasting outwards in a huge torrent that clashed against the intense flames. Steam rose from the clash, but only seconds after Naruto let his jutsu die off did the flames pierce the cloud and burn all three of the clones. A wave of shuriken and kunai flew toward the red heads back, but his wings merely began to spin like saws and deflected them all before they even came close. Sasori smirked, knowing his flames were close to dying now, but also knowing that Naruto was about to make things a lot more interesting.

As if on cue, Naruto appeared across the arena, a clone by his side. Running through hand signs, the real Naruto gathered the water in the air and screamed, **"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!"**

The water he had gathered began to clump together into the form of a large water dragon. Its eyes glowed with chakra, and it let out a fierce roar as it charged at Sasori. Twin flamethrowers met it halfway, the two powerful attacks clashing and destroying each other in a cloud of hot steam. When it all died down, the entire arena was covered in a hot fog, but Sasori was not bothered by it since he could feel nothing. The glowing scroll on his back vanished, and the one above it began to glow. Sasori quickly twisted his hands around a few times, as if adjusting something, before settling down to await Naruto's next move.

A wave of clones appeared from the fog, each wielding a kunai or shuriken. Powerful jets of pressurized water now shot forth from Sasori's hands, easily dispatching the wave of clones in one go. But Sasori knew it had been only a distraction, and what they were distracting him from came out of the fog from above. A clone beside him disappeared as Naruto yelled, the fierce orb of swirling chakra in his hand blowing the fog away with the intense winds that seemed to emanate from it. Without a moment to waste Sasori swerved his hands up, taking aim at Naruto and shooting his pressurized water at the blonde. As the water closed in on him, Naruto did not replace himself with a clone or log, instead he held out the hand that held the strange chakra orb and aimed it to intercept the two water jets.

Time seemed to slow as the two attacks closed in, but it quickly sped back up as Naruto's yell rang out through the arena, making many of the older shinobi in the audience nearly suffer heart attacks.

"**RASENGAN!"**

XXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:** This is a revised edition of Chapter 7. I hope you enjoyed it! (Any previous Author Notes of revised chapters no longer exist)


	8. Chapter 8

"Normal Speech"

_-Thoughts-_

**"Demon Speech"**

**"Jutsu!"**

XXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 8: The Flames of Love and Youth

An explosion shook the entire arena and kicked up a huge cloud of dust that reached far beyond the open ceiling of the arena. The crowd was full of coughing and various screams of distress as many tried to clear the dust away from their vision and lungs. Those fortunate with some kind of eye protection or a face mask helped the people seated near them to regain their breath, or otherwise stared in awe down at the arena where the astounding explosion had of course come from.

The dust cloud slowly began to dwindle, and from it emerged Hayate, coughing more than usual as he waved a hand to blow the dust away from in front of him. He had moved to the edge of the crowds railing after the attacks had landed, and now he as well as everyone else anxiously awaited the outcome of the clash. No more so than the older shinobi who had easily recognized the Yondaime's prized jutsu, a jutsu that had been wielded by the Kyuubi brat they now fully recognized from all those years ago. One man in particular had been interested in this revelation, and as two shadows began to form amidst the cloud his normally slit eye opened slightly in a powerful glare that was in no way weakened by having his other eye bandaged.

The first to come into view was Naruto, looking badly bruised and worn out but otherwise fine. His right hand, the one that had wielded the Rasengan, had severe chakra burns on it and a few fingers seemed bent wrong. But even as he stood there breathing heavily the sound of bones snapping back into place and visible steam rising off of the shrinking burns showed Kyuubi was hard at work in repairing his hosts damage. Sasori was in some ways better off, but that was with disregarding his arms. His limbs were almost completely ruined, cracks running up the entirety of each arm, and his hands themselves were gone, only the twisted remains of the pipes sticking out from where his wrists would be. His legs clattered like the wood they were made of as he struggled to realign his joints, and in only a few seconds he stood there perfectly calm again as if his hands weren't missing.

Sasori glanced behind himself, taking note of Kankuro's condition after the attack. He seemed fine beyond the extreme level of exhaustion he was showing, sweat covering his face and making his face paint run a little. With a quick nod Sasori turned back to Naruto, calculating everything within his mind. "Very impressive fox boy, I never expected your attack to forcibly shoot my own water back into the pipes." He said. "That jutsu is incredibly powerful, would you mind telling me how you acquired it?"

His hand now completely healed, Naruto rubbed the back of his head and grinned. "Oh that? I picked it up from a pervert during the month of training for the Chuunin Exams. Despite his personality, he actually had some useful stuff to teach." For a moment Naruto could've sworn he heard someone sneeze, but since he knew Jiraiya had to be on the other side of the village he simply ignored it. "I'm actually pretty lucky. I was having some trouble controlling the balance until I came up with the solution during Uindo's earlier match."

Sasori smirked, and suddenly the wings on his back stretched out slightly. "Hn…not bad fox boy, but I suggest we finish this little match before it's too late." A quick nod from Naruto, and suddenly the wings popped out of their joints. Sasori shot his arms back, and with a slight click the wings suddenly attached to the ends of his wrists in place of the lost hands. He shifted into a new stance, and the wings spun to life, the metal blades spinning like saws. Seeing the new modification, Naruto created a swarm of clones and they all charged in to test the threat.

An advantage in numbers became useless as Sasori swung one saw arm and decimated several clones at once. Clouds of smoke appeared whenever Sasori moved, and they slowly closed in on the original Naruto faster than he had wanted it to. The clones shifted their fighting style slightly and raised their kunai, only to have the saws cut through them as if they were paper and destroy the clones that wielded them.

_-Damn, experience and skill are a deadly combination, and Sasori has plenty of both. –_ Naruto grimly thought. _–At this rate they'll all be gone and I'll be on the defensive. I hope these clones provide enough info to counter his attacks. –_ More clones formed around Naruto and joined their brethren, but the smoke simply continued to rise above the clone mob without even slowing. Sasori jumped above the clones, striking down two clones that had followed him, and the large metal coil inside his stomach shot out, striking like a snake as it pierced many of the clones through their hearts and stomachs. As they disappeared, Sasori landed and began using the coil like a whip alongside his saws, which only sped up the destruction of all the clones.

Naruto ran through a few hands signs before raising his fingers to his lips. **"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"** Unlike usual when a large continuous stream of fire was used to create the fireball, Naruto pumped so much chakra into his jutsu that it created a giant fireball that flew into the crowd of clones and detonated, bathing half the arena in fire. Minutes passed with nothing happening, before Sasori metal coil shot out from the fire and wrapped itself around Naruto's waist. He yelled in surprised as it pulled him into the fire, but when the clones detonated it not only blew out the fire but it also damaged the spiked end of the metal coil. Sasori jumped out from the explosion, looking unharmed except for his coil, and with a few swiped of his saws he dispatched the dozen or so clones that emerged from the ground around him.

The real Naruto and Sasori stared at each other from across the arena, each judging the other for their true condition. Naruto reached behind his back, unsheathing the Kyuubi as he prepared to fight against Sasori close up. _–Sasori is still good even after all this time being sealed up. I guess being a shinobi never really does go away. Not even when the body you became one in disappears and is replaced with wood. -_ He tightened his grip on the hilt. _- I just hope using the chain whips won't be needed, I'd hate for those old farts up in the crowd to get any crazy ideas since they seem to have figured out my identity finally. –_

Sasori and Naruto charged, both saws grinding against the edge of Kyuubi as they struggled for dominance. Naruto pulled back and Sasori pushed, metal ringing out as they exchanged blows all across the arena. Minutes passed, and yet neither on of them seemed to have an advantage. But a slight disturbance of the air changed that as the supposedly disabled metal coil pierced Naruto's chest and dug itself into his left lung. Several civilians let out a gasp of shock up in the crowd, and Naruto himself stared down in surprise at the coil in his chest. He could feel it moving around inside of him, piercing the other lung and somehow wrapping its deformed end around his heart in threat of popping it. Sasori stared at Naruto, an uncaring expression on his face. Kankuro let out a gasp of surprised behind him, but Sasori ignored it. The two stood there in silence, the Kyuubi down on the ground after Naruto's grip had weakened. The saws buzzed slightly as they moved closer to Naruto's neck.

"I must say…your Kage Bunshin's are very resilient when you desire them to be." Sasori whispered. "You even had me fooled for a second with the lungs and heart, but you forgot the bones that are supposed to encase them, baka."

Naruto's clone simply smiled, blood running freely from his lips. Seconds later it glowed and detonated. Sasori flew back until he crashed right into Kankuro, sending both of them into the wall. From below the small crater his clone had created, Naruto dug himself out of the ground, having replaced himself with a clone he had hidden underground early on in the fight for a situation like this. Brushing a little dirt off of his shoulder, he tightened his grip on Kyuubi and looked over at Sasori. The red head had survived relatively unharmed, but there was a noticeable increase in the cracks that ran up his arms and now his chest. When Sasori stood the two of them stared at each other, before a strained cough from behind Sasori reminded them of the now borrowed time their fight was on.

"This is it Sasori, I doubt we'll have enough time for anything after this last attack." Naruto yelled across the arena. Sasori nodded, and the two tensed to prepare their final charge. They were blurs as they sped across the arena, and for a brief moment they were even unseen as they closed those last few feet. When they stopped, many in the crowd gasped in surprise. Naruto was crouched under Sasori, kunai poised right in front of the hole where Sasori's heart would be it he were alive. The Kyuubi was in his other hand, jamming the two saws that were frozen mere inches away from separating Naruto's head from his body. Sasori's coil was wrapped around Naruto's waist, and judging by the clenched edges of fabric around it he was ready to squeeze Naruto until he was split into two parts.

Neither of them moved, and neither of them spoke. The audience and Hayate dared not to make a sound, sitting on the edges of their seats to await the end of this clash. Minutes acted like hours to many, before Naruto's face broke out into a huge grin. "You can't move anymore, can you Sasori?" Sasori grunted in agreement, and suddenly his body slumped forward and the coil fell harmlessly to the ground. Naruto caught the living puppet and sheathed his sword, before walking over to the unconscious Kankuro. This was a surprise to many in the crowd, having almost completely forgotten about Kankuro amidst the impressive battle Sasori and Naruto had waged. The old man who had been glaring this whole time at Naruto focused on the fallen Suna genin, his curiosity and rage growing at the mysterious events that continued to surround the Kaze-nin.

"So let's see…my sword into your heart, and your coil hugging me to death." Naruto muttered. "I guess that means it's a tie?"

"No, since I'm not your true opponent this match is yours because of this brat fainting." replied Sasori, a slight smirk on his face.

Naruto shrugged in response and set Sasori carefully on the ground beside Kankuro. Crouching, he checked out Kankuro's vitals and concluded he had merely fainted from chakra exhaustion. "I'm surprised he lasted so long actually. Your self propulsion seal takes a good amount of chakra to sustain when you're fighting, and add on the fact you used up both of your element scrolls…" Naruto whistled. "But still, don't you think you should've warned him a little? I would've given you the time to explain it all."

"Doing so would have been a waster of both our times, at least at that moment." Sasori explained. "Besides, this way I was able to judge his full chakra reserve levels and chakra control without him holding anything back in fear of this happening." Despite not being able to move now, Sasori still somehow managed to portray wanting to kick Kankuro slightly to add to his statement. Naruto chuckled, and after using a clone to lift Kankuro and picking up Sasori himself, he called over to Hayate. "Proctor, my opponent has fainted from chakra exhaustion. I suggest you call this match and let me take Kankuro here to the clinic."

Nodding in agreement, Hayate raised his hand while Naruto turned toward the exit. "Since Kankuro is no longer able to battle, I declare Naruto Uzumaki the winner of the second match!"

XXXXX

A bright light slowly began to shine behind Kankuro's closed eyelids, but he chose to ignore it since his body practically screamed for more rest. As he began drifting back to sleep, he suddenly felt the reason for why he had even awoken so soon. Someone was pocking him, hard, in the ribs with something thin and pointed. Letting a small groan escape his lips, Kankuro opened one eye and waited for his vision to adjust and focus. When things became clear, he finally noticed Naruto standing over him, a stick in hand that he was using to poke Kankuro awake with.

After about another minute of so of continuous poking, since Naruto had failed to see Kankuro awaken at first, Kankuro growled and slapped the stick away weakly. Naruto blinked in surprised, but once he saw Kankuro glaring at him he threw the stick over his shoulder and put on an innocent smile.

"Good morning sleepyhead, glad to see you're finally up." said Naruto.

"You are so lucky I can barely move right now…" muttered Kankuro.

"Heh…Sorry about that, you didn't wake up with the water, so…"

"Just…just shut up Naruto." Kankuro slowly sat up, despite his protesting body, and once he was upright he realized he was inside the arena clinic. "The clinic…so that means I lost…"

"Yeah, but don't be upset. After all, you still win something pretty amazing!" Naruto sat up from his seat and walked to the edge of the divider that separated Kankuro's bed from the others. He flicked his fingers a few times, and suddenly Sasori appeared around the corner and walked up to Kankuro. Sasori stood there, staring at Kankuro as if judging him. Naruto broke the brief silence that had fallen between them. "So Sasori, do you approve?"

"Hn…" Sasori crossed his arms and continued staring at Kankuro, answering Naruto over his shoulder. "This boy has great potential, something I've only seen in a few beyond myself. Although he is nowhere near my level, I suppose with my help he can be one day…" Sasori trailed off, narrowing his eyes as he suddenly grabbed the strange cat ear hat off of Kankuro's head. "Although he will need new clothing before I begin. Honestly, what were you thinking in wearing such a ridiculous outfit, and a black one no less when you live in a desert?"

"Um…" Kankuro sweatdropped as Sasori continued to mutter under his breath about his clothing. "Wait a minute, what the hell are you two talking about?"

"Sasori is now yours, but that doesn't mean he would teach you anything." Naruto explained. "In fact, the only way he would ever consider passing on his skills to anyone is if they showed great potential in the art of puppetry. My teammate Uindo fit that requirement, and has actually learned everything there is to puppetry from Sasori. I told him about your performance from before he came out and he seems impressed. This means you also have a chance to learn things from Sasori."

"Plus, despite my condition, the fox brat here considers my opinion on anything related to me important as well. So therefore he gave me the option of staying with you or returning to the other brat." Sasori shrugged. "Being with you means I get to stay out of the accursed scroll more often, and I have the chance of passing down my skills once more to someone truly worthy of them."

"Oh…" Kankuro suddenly began to feel nervous, the situation finally sinking in to him. "S-So…I guess that means you're my new sensei, right Sasori-san?" Sasori nodded, and Kankuro gulped.

"Well then, I think that just about wraps all of this up." Naruto flicked his finger a little, and with a slight jump Sasori began moving on his own, the seals on his chest glowing slightly. "I've activated the chakra cycle seal, and I've given you enough for about 2 hours before all of it runs out and you return to the scroll Sasori. I suggest you use that time to teach Kankuro a few things."

Sasori let out a slight grunt, and once Naruto disappeared out the door he focused once more on Kankuro. Kankuro for his part was more nervous than he had ever been today, since now he was alone with Sasori, THE Sasori, staring down at him. As if reading Kankuro's thoughts, Sasori decided to ease any of Kankuro's fears before they truly began. "There is no need for you to worry, because I cannot harm you." He tapped the seals around the strange hole in his chest. "All of these seals hold various functions, and one of them prevents me from killing anyone while the chakra cycle seal is active. If I were to do such a thing, then another would activate and burn the scroll that holds my heart and kill me instantly."

"Oh, I see." Kankuro seemed much more at ease with this information, and after finding a more comfortable position, the two of them began their lessons. On the other side of the clinic door, Naruto smiled and finally walked up to the waiting box."

XXXXX

As the doors to the waiting box opened and Naruto entered, Uindo flashed his teammate a smile and walked up to him, Hinote and Temari following close behind. They quickly gave each other a high five, and then Uindo pulled Naruto into a quick noogie.

"That was a great battle Naruto, definitely a crowd pleaser." He said, still grinding his fist into Naruto's skull.

"Ow! Thanks Uindo. Ow! Ow! Ow! OW! Could you cut that out now? Ow! That's actually starting to...OW!"

"He's gonna lose all of his hair if you keep that up brother." muttered Hinote, a small smirk on her face despite her concerned words. Uindo released Naruto at that finally, and Naruto shot him a fake glare for a moment, just for good measure.

"So…how are Kankuro and Sasori?" Uindo asked.

"They're both fine. When I left them in fact Sasori was just beginning his lesson." Naruto replied.

"I still can't believe you actually had Sasori and the Sandaime Kazekage, and as puppets even!" muttered Temari, shooting Uindo an occasional glare that was weak with the blush still hinted on her cheeks. Naruto opened his mouth to reply, when suddenly he realized someone was staring at him from the side with a slight killer intent. Looking around, he was surprised to see Sasuke staring at him, eyes narrowed and his arms crossed.

_-Okay, what did I do to piss off the teme? –_ Naruto also narrowed his eyes. "What's the matter Sasuke?"

"…It's nothing." Sasuke muttered. Hinote and Uindo had also looked over at him by this point, and judging by the small glow that came from Hinote's eyes it was obvious that she at least understood what was happening with Sasuke. A grin split her face suddenly as she giggled behind her hand.

"Okay…so then what's with the sour face then? You suck a lemon or something? Did a fan girl sneak in and try to rape you?" Naruto teased. Sasuke huffed and didn't reply otherwise. He turned around to look down at the arena as various chuunin repaired all the damaged landscape and surrounding walls, calling an end to Naruto's questioning.

"Huh…he's acting weird…weirder…" Naruto shook his head and turned to look between Temari and Uindo. "So Sasori's taken care of, what about the Sandaime?"

"I think you should give it to Temari bro, that way she can return it to Suna once the exams are over with." said Hinote.

"I guess you've got a point there sis. Too bad really, I always loved playing around with the iron sand he could make." Uindo sighed, and then with a quick tap on his seal he retrieved the Sandaime scroll again and handed it to Temari. "Here you go Temari, a nice little present from me to you." The blush on Temari's face at his words could make a tomato jealous. _–Baka… -_ thought Hinote and Naruto.

"**At least he was smart enough to keep the puppet army."** The Kyuubi added.

_-I think it's more like he totally forgot to mention them. And beside it wouldn't have mattered, they were passed on from Sasori to Uindo after he learned everything he could from him. And most of them aren't even Suna-nin. –_

Before anything else happened, Hayate's voice called out for the arena below. "Now that the repairs have been once again completed, we will now begin the third match of the exams. Will Hinote and Sasuke Uchiha please report to the arena floor?"

Uindo gave Hinote a quick pat on the back before she flashed a smile and jumped over the railing. Sasuke stood there for a moment, deep in thought seemingly, before walking slowly to the stairs and beginning the walk down. Uindo and Naruto moved to the railing to watch the match, but something Uindo saw in Hinote made him nervous suddenly. _–She's…calm… -_

It was true. A very well known thing among the three Kaze shinobi, Hinote when about to fight was usually smiling and jumping on the balls of her feet, but this time she was instead staring at the stairs intently. _–Such a sudden change, I rarely ever see her like this. The only time she does this is when she's taking a fight completely serious, or… -_ Hinote's eyes became a solid red for a brief second, but Uindo saw it all the same and he shuddered slightly.

_-I really hope Sasuke will forgive her after this, if he can… -_

XXXXX

"Are both contestants ready?"

Hinote had seemingly lost the serious air about her as she smiled at Sasuke and nodded toward Hayate. Sasuke simply nodded toward Hayate. The proctor glanced between the two of them, and after a small coughing fit he raised his hand. "Then let the third match…Begin!"

As soon as Hayate began the match, Sasuke held up a hand to call it to a stop. Hinote paused in her attack, one hand inside the others sleeve. "What is it Sasuke?" she asked.

"Before we begin I'd like to ask you something Hinote." Sasuke replied. She nodded slowly, unsure as to Sasuke's intentions. "Hinote…how strong are you three?"

"Eh?" Hinote blinked in surprised, but after registering the question a little more, she smiled and slipped out of her stance. Taking on a more relaxed posture, she pulled out a dango stick from seemingly nowhere and began chewing on it, making many in the audience sweatdrop at the strange events. "Oh, well why didn't you ask earlier?"

"I didn't think to ask any of you until I watched Uindo and the dobe's match. Now though, after those two displayed what they did, I think I deserve to at least have a clue."

Hinote hummed a little as she finished off her dango stick. Once she did, she flicked it away, and vanished in a pillar of flames. Sasuke suddenly found himself being pulled back into a hug by Hinote as she leaned in to whisper him the answers. He blushed as he noticed the fair amount of pressure on his back from her chest pressing against it.

"Uindo and I are around elite jonin standards, perhaps ANBU with a little more training, and I'm sure we could beat Kakashi-san even…" Hinote whispered. "There's another tier to our power, but that's for later. And…as for Naruto…he's a difficult person to tag a label of rank on. Normally he could be considered a jonin by most villages' standards, but when he uses his sword he's easily ANBU. Using the Kyuubi's chakra doesn't have a rank, since with its full power I doubt anything could stop him then. But I do recall one time when Naruto fought sensei with his sword and three tails worth of Kyuubi's chakra. Itachi barely won by breaking his own handicap and using the Mangekyo Sharingan on Naruto to suppress the Kyuubi."

"H…How could you three be so strong?" Sasuke whispered back to Hinote. Hinote giggled, pressing herself a closer to Sasuke. His blush grew a little more. "Sasuke-kun…is it really that surprising? We were trained by an S-rank criminal who could beat any Kage by just looking at them, and yet you doubt we could become this strong so quickly? How do you think we won against the original Akatsuki then, whose leader alone could make some of the Biju tremble at all the power he wielded? And does it really surprised you to hear how powerful Naruto is?"

Sasuke shook his head slowly, and as Hinote backed off to return to her original spot, he thought over her answer. _–Incredible…Itachi was able to make Naruto that strong in just four years? But why am I surprised? He did kill everyone in our clan in one night by himself…- _Sasuke glanced up at the waiting box, or more specifically at Naruto. _–Itachi wasn't lying in his letter it seems…and his offer…no, don't think about that now, focus on the fight. –_

"Thank you for answering me Hinote." Sasuke said. "But I think it's about time to really begin."

Hinote giggled, slipping into her fighting stance with both sleeves slipping over her hands to conceal them. "Alright then, if that's what you want Sasuke-kun!"

Neither of them moved for a moment, waiting for the other to move first in this stand off. Sharingan stared into glowing red, and steadily the red in Hinote's eyes stayed just a little longer each time. It was Sasuke who moved first, tossing two kunai toward Hinote and then charging right after them. She easily avoided them both, and then blocked the kick completely with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Pushing Sasuke back, she did a sweep kick to knock him down, but he merely back flipped and then jumped high into the air for an axe kick. Again she blocked, but this time she grabbed his leg and threw him across the arena.

_-She's pretty strong for a kunoichi. I doubt most jonin kunoichi even can throw me as far as she did. –_ thought Sasuke, flipping mid-air to right himself. As he landed, he saw her finish a hand sign and raises her fingers to her lips.

"**Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!"**

Dozens of tin fireballs zipped through the air as Sasuke dived, the tree behind him lighting up as the fires made contact. Hinote did not give so easily though and turned to keep her fireballs on Sasuke's trail through the trees. One of the fireballs struck a tiny explosive note Sasuke had left behind, and the explosion made Hinote halt her attack long enough for Sasuke to jump into a nearby tree. He pulled out several shuriken, and after throwing them toward Hinote he performed a few hands signs.

"**Katon: Kasumi Enbu no Jutsu!"**

Strange gas spewed from his mouth unlike the fire that was expected from a Katon jutsu. Its noxious fumes nearly made him want to move, but he held strong to complete his combo. Hinote easily avoided the shuriken that he had thrown, but her eyes widened as the small glint of wires caught her attention. The shuriken banked, guided by Sasuke's careful manipulation of the wires, and circled around Hinote several times before digging themselves into her back and arms. A light gasp of surprise escaped her lips to cover the pain she felt as she was suddenly pulled forward. Sasuke jumped down from the tree branch he was perched on and dashed toward Hinote, using the wires still in his hands to pull her closer as well. When they passed each other, he quickly did a leg sweep to knock her off balance and pulled even harder on the wires. She slammed into the tree he had been standing on before, the wires coiling around the tree to secure her there. She began to struggle, moving her hands so she could perform a Kawarimi, but then the noxious gas registered to her senses and she froze in panic. It was all the pause Sasuke needed.

"Sorry Hinote, but this is the end!" yelled Sasuke. He quickly performed a few hands signs before placing the wires into his mouth. **"Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu!"**

Fire built up along his end of the wires, before letting out a roar as it quickly took the form of a dragon and charged toward Hinote, guided by the wires. As the flames made contact with the gas, the entire area suddenly erupted into flames and an explosion. Flaming debris rained down and Sasuke shielded his eyes to keep himself from being blinded by the light of the flames. _–Damn, that was way too much! Hinote better be okay after this… -_ His fears however were quickly dispelled when the flames suddenly pulsed. It was quick, so brief that it could've simply been the flames rising up for a second as more fuel suddenly found its way into the fire. But Sasuke, Sharing still blazing in his eyes, saw the chakra behind that pulse.

The flames parted with a non-existent wind, spreading out in two lines to trap Sasuke from escaping to the sides and letting him see what was on the other side of this flame hallway. Hinote stood slumped over, her clothing and skin untouched by burn marks or anything for that matter from the flames. Her long red hair, normally in a ponytail, was undone and shrouding her head from view, blowing wildly whenever the flames came close enough to do so. But through the strands of hair Sasuke could make out two small red glows with his enhanced eyesight, right where her eyes should be. The flames seemed to practically dance around her, moving with an unnatural flow that circled her protectively and yet looked ready to lash out at any moment.

Then Hinote stood up straight, and Sasuke barely avoided gasping. Her face was untouched just like the rest of her body was, but her eyes were another matter all the same. Pure red orbs stared at Sasuke, exactly like how Uindo's were but more menacing than his ever had looked. A wicked smirk curled her lips and the flames made shadows dance evilly around her face, the demonic look she now sported all the more terrifying. In two quick clouds of smoke her scimitars formed, before she raised them both above her head and crossed them. A flash of light shrouded them from view, and when it vanished Hinote was now holding a harp in their place.

_-What the hell is going on? Is she going to play in the middle of a battle? What about this strange transformation? –_ thought Sasuke. He quickly glanced between the fires around him toward the waiting box, and cursed as he saw Uindo. _–Of course, her brother used an instrument during his battle. And whenever he played it he seemingly performed inhuman feats of power. Is she going to do the same thing? –_

Hinote closed her eyes and began plucking the harp, calling forth a powerful tune that spoke of battles and war. The music echoed across the arena, and the flames seemed to grow and shrink in harmony with the music. They suddenly changed, the red fires shifting to blue and the occasional white, and then various sized pieces of the fire began to clump together. A form grew out of these fireballs, arms and limbs the first apparent thing and then heads with red glowing eyes. As theses strange fire creatures rose to their feet, black flames suddenly sprouted from their hands and took on the form of various weapons, some of the creatures even growing so as to accommodate the giant battle axes and war hammers they now wielded. Some of the smaller ones took the first steps, looking awkward as they stumbled and broke themselves up by crashing into the ground. But they quickly reformed themselves if needed and then took another step, and over time they quickly became adept at moving, so much that they now circled Sasuke, their numbers easily preventing any quick escape Sasuke might've desired.

All the flames besides those that made these creatures and circled Hinote vanished, and with a wicked laugh Hinote called out to Sasuke. "The drums of war play for all, but the harp of death is mine to play." Her red eyes glowed even brighter for a moment, the flames around her growing and forming even more of these strange fire creatures to provide back-up for the first wave that circled Sasuke if needed. "Would you care to listen to my song, Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke could not suppress his shudder at the tone her voice had as she said his name. It overflowed with bloodlust, it was near demonic, and it was all directed at him.

Hinote plucked her harp, and the fire creatures charged. Swords, spears, maces, and every imaginable weapon alive suddenly swung at Sasuke, and he was taxed beyond belief in simply not having one of them cut him beyond a small scratch. Whenever they made contact his skin burned so fast that it was quickly cauterized, and although they were quickly adding up all over his body he could not land a single true blow on them in return. With every swipe of a kunai and every carefully chakra covered punch and kick he could easily dispel one of the creatures, only to have it reform seconds later and resume its attacks. And as time passed his weapons grew too hot for him to wield or simply melted after making contact with the black flames of the creature's weapons. It was only one frustrating problem after another it seemed in this sudden hell fire battle.

The smaller creatures suddenly pulled back, and three of the bigger ones, easily twice Sasuke's size, walked forward with two wielding war hammers and the last one with a double headed battle axe. The two with hammers slammed them into the ground, the tremors strong enough to knock Sasuke off balance, and the axe wielder did a horizontal swipe to slice him in two. By purposefully falling forward Sasuke managed to save himself, only to suffer the constant blows of the hammer wielders as they tried to squash him. One hammed landed near his face, and Sasuke risked it by planting an exploding tag on the weapon. It thankfully did not explode on contact with the black flames, but still Sasuke was caught in the blast as it exploded only three seconds after he had started to roll away. The creature screeched when half of its body sudden dispersed along with its weapon, and for some reason it did not regenerate. What it could longer do however the other giants picked up for it, increasing their strikes and several of the smaller creatures joining in.

Sasuke did not waver in this new development and attached several more explosive tags on kunai that he quickly threw into the mass of fire creatures. The explosions did as they had done before and easily parted the flames that made up the creatures, and strangely like before they did not regenerate. With this new opening he ran out of the circle, and cursed as he saw a wall of the creatures standing between him and Hinote, each of them a giant like the three he had barely not died fighting against.

_-This is fucking crazy! Uindo and Naruto's fights were incredible, but they were doing it all for fun! Hinote's actually fighting to kill… -_ The heat behind him grew, and he barely ducked in time to avoid a black fire sword. Looking behind him he cursed as he saw the surviving creatures joining together to reform what they had lost, turning some of them into giants with several arms and misplaced heads and legs. With his back and front blocked by Hinote's creatures, he quickly ran through hand signs to hopefully escape this.

"**Doton: Doryu Taiga!"**

Mud erupted from behind and in front of Sasuke, flowing over the ground like a river as it swept the fire creatures off their feet and sent them crashing into the arena walls. For the creatures in front of Hinote they simply crashed into a large wall of blue flames that Hinote had summoned to defend herself from the mud, and strangely enough the creatures did not meld with the flames even though they were of the same fire. Once both sides were frozen by the mud slamming into them, Sasuke performed more hand signs and slammed his hands on the ground.

"**Doton: Doryudan!"**

With a huge chunk of his chakra he formed three dragon heads in front and behind him, each letting out a roar before launching several mud balls at the creatures. The creatures behind him were easily destroyed, and so were the ones in front of him, but when the mud balls reached Hinote's firewall they dried up in seconds and crumbled to the ground harmlessly. As the mud stopped flowing and the dragon heads broke apart, the firewall flared before breaking up to form more of the smaller fire creatures.

"Dammit…" muttered Sasuke. He pulled out one of the few soldier pills he had with him and bit down on it, sighing in relief when his dangerously low chakra reserves filled up once more. _–I'll have to thank Kakashi for these later, if I survive. Still, to think I have to use these things, even after my reserves grew so much from all those jutsu's I learned over the month. I guess I'll have to thank him for that too…-_

Hinote suddenly laughed, catching Sasuke's attention like she had hoped. "Very impressive Sasuke-kun, you are definitely a strong opponent! I'm so going to love your blood…" She vanished amongst the flames and suddenly reappeared behind Sasuke, wrapping one arm around his shoulder as she bit at his ear. "I bet it's quite tasty…" Sasuke shuddered as he elbowed her and spun around to face her. However she was already gone, back in her place behind the creatures with flames dancing around her like usual.

She played the harp even faster now, and along with the creatures charging him Sasuke also had to beware the whips of fire that now lashed out from around Hinote. The ground turned black with each attack of the whips, and some of the scattered stones glowed red should a whip strike it. When the creatures closed in, Sasuke found out just how useful Kawarimi really could be as several rocks and pieces of wood were left in his place, each of them burnt to ash in a few seconds after a creature's weapon sliced it or a whip completely shattered it. When five giants formed out of several of the smaller creatures, Sasuke finally had enough and once again rushed through hand signs.

"**Doton: Retsudotensho!"**

All around Sasuke the ground caved in, before turning into a spinning mass of dirt and stone that sucked the creatures in. As he jumped clear of the earthen whirlpool, the fire whips returned to attack him and he cried out as one wrapped itself around his right arm. He was slammed into the ground by it, but although Sasuke expected it to continue he was surprised to feel it release him. He stood shakily and nursed his arm with his left, but quickly moved his head back as his Sharingan detected Hinote's sword swipe from the side. He grabbed two kunai from his pouch and defended, but they were almost useless as her impressive strength made most of her strikes nearly land home and always made his arms feel sore after pulling back. His Sharingan spun without pause as he tried to keep up with her movements, but they too were hard pressed as her speed only left him with seconds to spare.

_-Too fast to counter, and way too strong to keep myself on the defensive with just a couple kunai. –_ Sasuke let out a grunt as he blocked one scimitar and felt the other cut into his stomach slightly. _–I knew I should've brought along a windmill shuriken or something for a situation like this, the extra length would've helped a lot. Now I'm stuck with trying to stop her from using those scimitars before my arms become numb and useless. –_

Hinote smirked, red eyes glowing even brighter for a moment, and she pulled back from her assault. Sasuke took this pause to breathe a sigh of relief, but that quickly died off as he watched her raise her scimitars up and over her shoulders, the blades resting gently against her back. Black flames suddenly ran up the length of each blade, and with a yell she swung them back over her shoulder and crossed them in front of her chest mid-swing.

"**Gouka Shuuren!"**

Twin spirals of black flames shot out from in front of her, both spiraling around each other like a drill as they flew toward Sasuke. The earth underneath the flames melted without them even touching the ground, and that was when Sasuke realized how screwed he was if it got close to him. The drill of black fire suddenly crashed into itself, both tendrils making contact at the tip, and a huge explosion covered the spot where Sasuke had last stood. As the smoked cleared it revealed nothing but a large crater, but Sasuke emerged moments later from the ground, on the opposite side of the arena from where he had stood. He coughed and brushed dirt off of himself, before turning his Sharingan gaze upon Hinote once more.

Hinote was staring at the same spot with a strange expression on her face. It was like a mix between a cute pout and a frustrated frown. When she did finally look at Sasuke, he could somehow see in her pure red orbs for eyes a look of disappointment.

"You moved." Just those two words made Sasuke fear for his life more than he had during the entire match so far.

XXXXX

As yet another drill of black flames detonated down in the arena, roughly the 20th so far, Uindo sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Dammit, why did this have to happen now?"

"What the hell is going on Uindo?" asked Naruto.

"…It's the curse of our bloodline, or rather it's Hinote's version of it."

"Her version? Well that's news to me. I thought you had explained all of this completely before."

"Err yes…but that was only about me…I never…"

"Hey hold on a minute!" Uindo and Naruto turned around, only to come face to face with a fuming Temari. "What the hell is all of this talk about a bloodline? Does that mean you beat me with one?"

"Actually yes, I did Temari-chan." At Uindo's words Temari seemed to grow angrier, and sensing the approaching doom Naruto decided to save his teammate. "Look Temari, how about Uindo here explains it all to you and me? That way we all get some answers." Naruto's words seemed to calm Temari, if only for now, and so the three walked away from the railing and the other contestants to get a little privacy for what Uindo was about to explain.

Getting comfortable on the ground, Uindo crossed his legs and sighed a little. "Well then…where do I begin?"

"Start from the beginning, for Temari's sake." Naruto said.

"Right…Well then to begin, do you know about elemental affinities Temari-chan?" Temari nodded. "Well then simply put our bloodline is a super…no, more like a mega version of that."

"So you basically just have a huge amount of skill with certain elements?" asked Temari.

"Yes…but only one, we can never obtain a second or third minor affinity, ever. It's one of the costs for having this bloodline. And really, this control we have is a lot more powerful than you think. For instance, what you would normally use to perform the tree climbing technique is what I can use to perform most B-Rank or above Futon jutsu's."

Naruto chuckled a little and then helped Temari close her mouth. "B-But that's crazy! There's no way someone could be able to do that!" Temari exclaimed.

"Then how was he flying in your fight Temari? That was basically water walking with air in its place for Uindo here. For anyone else, you might as well be using an S-rank or forbidden jutsu. I'm lucky enough to have it roughly equal an A-rank for myself, although I still have a little trouble from time to time." asked Naruto. When Temari remained silent, Naruto smirked and nodded toward Uindo.

"Thank you Naruto. Now then, our bloodline is also split into five different forms, each holding one of the major elements as its power. Fire, Wind, Lighting, Earth, and Water, all of them are potential affinities that my family can obtain from birth. I myself hold Wind, while my sister holds Fire."

"And so your bloodline is also appropriately named after that very system of powers, the kekkei genkai…Gogyou Tatsujin." Naruto said.

"But although we have such a powerful bloodline in most regards, it comes with a cost. Each form of the bloodline has a different form of a curse just as the varying forms of power. For Wind users we have an accelerated metabolism, one so powerful that our meals can usually seem like an Akimichi one, or one of Naruto's at least when it involves ramen. Lightning users have a second personality that are complete opposites to their real selves, and they always cause the user to become insane, leading the wielder of this side of the bloodline to overload and kill themselves eventually. Earth users are always either blind or deaf, and at worst they can be both. Water users are constantly sleepy and lazy rivaling the Nara clan, sometimes falling asleep right in the middle of anything. And finally…there's Fire…"

"…What's wrong with Fire users?" Naruto's statement was ironically punctuated by a series of explosions down in the arena, powerful enough to make the floor shake even. Sasuke's cursing could be heard afterwards, making Naruto take a few mental notes on some he had never heard before.

Uindo glanced to the railing for a moment, before looking at Temari and Naruto sadly. "Fires users are the most dangerous besides Lightning users when involving their curses. It's random, but sometimes during a battle they can be overcome by an overwhelming bloodlust. It's so powerful, so insatiable, that they won't stop unless they can spill the blood of their victims…and then drink it."

Naruto and Temari gulped. "Y-You mean…Hinote won't s-stop until Sasuke is killed?" Temari stuttered.

"She won't…or normally she wouldn't. There is another way to stop the bloodlust, but that's also dangerous in some regards. Hinote will eventually revert back to normal, but she first has to run out of chakra, which means Sasuke has to survive for a really long time, and then there's still a side effect. You see if the bloodlust isn't satisfied like normal, then a second emotion will rise to the surface to take its place, and it will be just as powerful. It can be anything too, so long as it's the second priority emotion in Hinote's mind from either before or during the bloodlust." Uindo chuckled. "You never knew this, but Zabuza once suffered a bloodlust attack from Hinote in training, and she was still very pissed off once it died off. She left a very nasty burn mark on his chest before collapsing from chakra exhaustion."

As another explosion rang out in the arena, the trio stood up and walked back to the railing to continue watching the fight. "Sasuke better not die, we have to fight at least once before he does…" Naruto whispered, praying Sasuke's luck would hold out long enough against his psycho teammate. Uindo silently did the same.

XXXXX

Earth flew into the air as yet another Gouka Shuuren detonated and Sasuke dodged a close range swipe of Hinote's scimitars. Curses flew with ease from Sasuke as he performed this deadly dance, and Hinote merely continued to pout as she hoped to draw blood. Ducking under her second scimitar, Sasuke grabbed hold of her shirt and threw her away, but in the air she spun around and launched an attack that left only the ashen remnants of a log. Sasuke appeared behind her in a small swirl of leaves and kicked her in the back, and yet again she flipped around and fired off her jutsu.

_-Dammit! Does this girl not have an off button?! –_ Sasuke thought, appearing from behind one of the few intact trees still standing. _–She's had to have used a huge amount of her chakra from all of those attacks, right? But then why is it me who's had to use a soldier pill and not her?-_

"Aww, come on Sasuke-kun! Let me have some of you blood, I promise I'll be gentle." Hinote said, pouting still despite her dark intentions.

_-And another thing, why the hell did I have to get a crush on such a psychotic and beautiful girl? Wait a minute, what the hell am I saying!! –_

Hinote charged at Sasuke again, breaking him from his thoughts. Pushing more chakra into his Sharingan, Sasuke failed to notice his tomoe melding together for the briefest of seconds, but he was still able to gain the rewards of it. Time slowed even more for him, showing the barest opening in Hinote's attack. Taking advantage of it, Sasuke ducked under her arms and knocked them to the side and spun around to grab her from behind. With both arms locked by his, Hinote's struggles were pointless as Sasuke also used one leg to trap hers.

"H-Hey, let go of me dammit!" She screamed. Fire grew around her but never closed in, which Sasuke was thankful for or else he would have to release her.

"Not until you surrender Hinote." Sasuke muttered.

She screamed and cursed, taxing Sasuke's grip on her as she struggled to break free without surrendering. Then she fell lax in his hold, head ducked with her hair covering her face. _–Has she finally given up? –_ Sasuke wondered.

"Fine…I surrender you…bastard…" she whispered to Sasuke. Satisfied, Sasuke grunted and loosened his grip, which was his first mistake. In an instant a wicked grin crossed her face as she elbowed Sasuke and then threw him over her shoulder. As he coughed and stood he made his second mistake, which was to keep fighting. She charged at him, fists encased in fire, and blow after blow was rained down on Sasuke, knocking the Uchiha hard to the ground. She finally ended her assault by kicking him away, her foot covered in fire as well as she did so.

Sasuke rolled across the ground, wincing whenever his seared flesh made contact with the ground. _–Dammit, I can't believe she did that! Gah, and now I've got a ton of burns all over me, and they hurt like hell. –_ He finally stopped rolling and stood, wincing slightly when one of the burns opened and blood poured freely from his stomach. _–I have to end this now, or else there's no way I can keep this fight going. This means…I'll have to use that… -_

With a brief flashback to Kakashi's warning, Sasuke popped a second soldier pill into his mouth and bit down, sighing in relief as another wave of chakra refilled his reserves and strengthened his body. But this time a sickly feeling also came afterwards, which Sasuke furiously stomped down. Performing a few back flips, he moved back to the arena wall and jumped high atop it, crouching down once he was a suitable height. He stretched out his left arm and grabbed its wrist with his right, and then concentrated.

Hinote, having seen this strange act, suddenly smirked and copied Sasuke, moving to the opposite arena wall and climbing up to the same height. She stretched out her right hand, forming a compact fireball of black flames that roared as it flared up and down her arm. With Sasuke a similar event was happening, except for him a ball of white lightning formed in his hand and the tiny bolts lashed out all across his arm, crying out like a thousand birds. His Sharingan spun as he analyzed his Chidori and Hinote's attack, displeased with what he saw. _–She just keeps compressing it more and more, it's almost unbearable to look at. There's no way I can win…unless… -_ More chakra built in Sasuke's hand, turning the white lighting into blue bolts that now rumbled like thunder. Kakashi, who had arrived sometime during the match, gasped in surprise as he saw his student perform the Raikiri without any guidance, but also felt a bit of pride too.

Hinote and Sasuke however were not done. White flames danced now along with the black flames that Hinote held and stretched out far beyond her hand, making it seem as if her entire arm was encased by it. Sasuke too stepped up his power output, and the Raikiri he now held became loud like crashing lightning as it stretched out from his hand and took the rough shape of a spike. His Sharingan again melded together for a brief second, and suddenly faint wisps of black flames danced around the outer edges of it, spinning up the length of it to make it seem like a drill.

Their attacks now maxed out, Hinote and Sasuke charged, the arena wall underneath their attack melting and disintegrating. They increased their speed when they touched the ground, now looking like black and blue blurs from the speed. They raised their hands, and together as they closed in they shouted out their attacks.

"**GOUKA TENOHIRA!"**

"**CHIDORI!"**

Hell fire and raw lightning clashed in the center of the arena, the power of the attacks sending out tendrils of fire and lightning that lashed out around the two. The center of it all even dipped down into a crater, but Hinote and Sasuke never once wavered from their attacks and continued to push on. Pure red orbs stared back into the Sharingan, the three tomoe within sometimes merging for the briefest second to continue the black flames lacing this unnamed evolution of Chidori and Raikiri. But it did not seem enough, for slowly like the grin growing on Hinote's face the Gouka grew closer to Sasuke, his attack growing weaker as more and more of it was chipped away by her flames.

_-No! I…won't…lose! –_ Sasuke screamed mentally, and with caution out the window he threw all he had remaining into his attack. The Gouka paused, before beginning its own retreat against Sasuke's attack. Hinote was not worried, for she merely pushed more of her own chakra into her attack until the two were at a standstill again. For what seemed like hours to the two their attacks clashed, and then the power built up to critical at the center point of the attacks.

Blinding light, and then an explosion tore through the arena. The stone walls trembled under the power that assaulted them, cracks streaking across them and pieces chipping off. Sasuke slammed into one wall, a nice crater forming around him from the force, and a similar scene was on the other side of the arena for Hinote. They both collapsed out of their craters simultaneously, neither moving for a long time. With a groan Sasuke was first up, and then Hinote too. They stared at each other carefully, gauging the other to see if they dared to continue.

_-Fuck…even after such a clash she's still standing. Is she even human? –_ Sasuke winced as his broken ribs shifted and his left shoulder popped out of place. _–But I'm still standing too, although with way too many injuries to safely continue. –_ He braced himself and popped his shoulder back into place, and to his displeasure he saw Hinote do something similar, only with her right leg and several fingers. _–I guess it's decided then, this match is still on…I can only pray I will live after this… -_

Shifting through his pouch, Sasuke retrieved his third and final soldier pill. As he moved to eat it, he paused. _–I've already taken two without waiting an hour or two in-between each one, if I take a third…No, I can deal with the cost later, right now I just have to keep fighting. –_ Steeling himself, Sasuke swallowed the pill, and again he felt chakra flow into him and revitalize his body. But nausea suddenly choked him, and with a coughing fit he collapsed to the ground. "Dammit…not yet…." He muttered.

"You better not be giving up Sasuke-kun!" Hinote yelled. "I want to enjoy your blood so bad…."

"Shut up Hinote!" Sasuke yelled back, standing despite his weak stomach. "I had hoped this match would be over after that last attack, but of course I was wrong huh? No matter, I will end this right now, you can bet on that Hinote!"

Hinote smirked, and then began running through hand signs as she dashed forward. Cursing, Sasuke focused his Sharingan on the hand signs and began copying as he charged her as well. The air grew hot and chakra began to build around them both as they closed in. Soon the chakra began to clump together in the air, forming spheres of fire that flickered with red and blue flames. As Hinote and Sasuke neared to only a few feet, two rings of fire suddenly circled them and closed them off from escape. To add to it all, the spheres moved to above them both in a dome of spheres, blocking escape from above.

With the final hand sign now done, Sasuke gasped as he felt his reserves deplete to near zero. Across from him, Hinote too shared a similar reaction and fell to her knees, her red eyes flickering to normal brown for a second. "Heheh…you really shouldn't have copied me…Sasuke-kun…" Hinote said as her breathing growing more labored. "This jutsu…traps user and opponent…in a ring of fire…and a dome of fireballs….killing them both…" She smiled, and her eyes flickered back to brown for even longer this time. "I guess…we'll be going together…into death…"

"…" Sasuke smiled sadly as he realized her words were true. With his chakra reserves almost nonexistent, there was no chance for him to dive underground and escape. Even then, judging by how much he alone had put into his half of the jutsu's, the blast would be too powerful to escape from still. "Hn…you got me Hinote, I guess you can have my blood now. Might as well before we die."

Hinote giggled, and this time her eyes completely returned to their normal brown. As she limped forward toward Sasuke, her cheeks lit up with a powerful blush. When they were face to face, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Sasuke's shoulders. "Maybe…but I think…I'll take something else first before we die…" And with that she kissed him.

Sasuke stood frozen as she kissed him, even forcing her tongue into his mouth and pressing herself even closer against him. But just as he was about to let go and join her, she suddenly pulled back, winked, and passed out, knocking him down to the ground with her atop him. With both of their concentrations now broken, their combined jutsu's crashed down atop of them as Sasuke cursed her horrible timing.

Explosions rocked the arena and shrouded the two from view. Many in the crowd cried out as they feared the death of the last Uchiha, but then the smoke began to clear, and they instead turned to stare in confusion as two figures began to form out of the smoke, one of them clearly moving slightly. Hayate carefully approached and waved the final clouds of smoke aside, and after doing so everyone in the arena, the Hokage and Kazekage included, face faulted.

Hinote and Sasuke were alive, somehow, but the situation they were now in was anything but fine, at least for certain ages. Hinote was still atop Sasuke, still unconscious, but she was clearly straddling the Uchiha with one of her legs as she hugged him, a dreamy sigh escaping her lips. What was really bad was that the fires had badly burned her clothing, leaving only a black lacy bra on her chest and a huge hole in her pants which easily showed off her ass and a matching pair of panties for her bra. Sasuke for his part was luckily, or unluckily, unconscious, but the huge blush on his face was apparent to all past the curtain of Hinote's red hair that spilled out around them both.

First to recover from this sight, Hayate coughed to cover a perverted giggled and raised his hand. "Well then…um…since both opponents are…unconscious...this match a tie, and neither contestant shall proceed to the next rounds!"

Uindo sighed in relief, and his eyes reverted back to normal.

XXXXX

Naruto and Uindo dropped down to the arena floor, sweat dropping as they watched Hinote move up slightly in her sleep so that her breasts were now almost smothering Sasuke's face. It got even worse when they saw Sasuke's face turn blue for a moment before they picked up and separated the two. Naruto was kind enough even to wipe off the decent amount of blood on Sasuke's face from his bloody nose. _–I never knew the teme could be so perverted, and in his sleep even! I am so blackmailing him with this… -_ thought Naruto.

As they both turned to walk up the stairs, Uindo heard Hinote whimper slightly in her sleep as she clenched her hands. "I think Hinote knows Sasuke isn't near her. She's pouting." he said.

"Damn, what the hell is with her all of a sudden?" asked Naruto. "Is this the second emotion you were talking about, or is this just how Hinote acts when she loves someone?"

"…I think it's both."

"Huh?"

"I'll explain later Naruto." Uindo glanced over his shoulder at Hinote, then toward Sasuke. He smirked as an idea came to mind. "Hey Naruto, since these two lovebirds seem to like each other so much, how about we do something about that?"

Naruto instantly caught on to what Uindo was talking about, and his evil grin made even the Kyuubi jealous.

XXXXX

The first thing Sasuke noticed when he awoke was the warm and heavy object resting on his chest. The second was the wave of nausea and bone tiredness that came from the side-effects of consuming more than one solider pill so quickly. From what he had read about them, he could guess he would be bedridden for at least a week for having consumed two additional pills, or at least he would without medical treatment to painfully negate the toxins now rushing through his chakra coils. Needless to say, because of what the treatment would mean, Sasuke was split between sitting in bed and getting treatment.

Back to that first feeling, he was surprised to feel it shift slightly and sigh. Now curious, Sasuke opened one eye and focused on his surroundings. The first noticeable thing was Naruto and Uindo standing in front of him, two hugs grins splitting their faces. The second was Shikamaru mumbling about something that he found 'Troublesome'. Third was Lee, acting like Lee…which meant rivers of tears while he shouted to the heavens and Gai-sensei about the 'Flame of Youth, Yosh!' Thankfully Gai was not allowed within the waiting box or else Sasuke might've suffered a second dose of the strange sunset and man-hugging scene he had witnessed just before the Exams began.

Raising an eyebrow, Sasuke shifted slightly, which made Naruto and Uindo snicker slightly. "What are you two staring at?" he asked.

Even as he spoke those words he was already receiving an answer. Another sigh escaped the object on his chest, and when he looked down all he could make out was a full head of red hair that rested just under his chin. Hinote shifted again in his lap, snuggling closer and pressing her breasts against Sasuke's chest. An audible snap sounded out, and Sasuke watched with wide eyes as Hinote's bra slipped off along the back, causing her breasts to squeeze even more against him, which were definitely well developed for a girl her age. He lasted about a minute more before blood dripped from his nose and he passed out, ironically lowering his head atop Hinote's to make the whole scene seem even more romantic.

Uindo and Naruto broke into full blown laughter instantly, clutching their sides and cursing the lack of a camera. Behind them, Temari held her hand out to Neji, who slapped a couple ryo into it after mumbling something about fate. Minutes later with all the humor and humiliation now done with, Uindo carefully picked Sasuke and Hinote up and left the waiting box so as to get them some medical care for both of them. Naruto walked to the railing to check out the condition of the arena floor, and was surprised to find it already reset from all the damage Hinote had inflicted on it. _–It seems they're finally getting used to our kind of fights… -_ Naruto thought.

It was at that moment that Hayate appeared down in the arena and coughed a few times. "Now we shall begin the final match of the first round. Would Neji Hyuuga and Rock Lee please report to the arena?"

Like Naruto had been observing of Neji, the stuck up Hyuuga merely smirked and confidently walked down the stairs to the arena. Meanwhile Lee simply stood there, his head lowered and his fist clenched. This was greatly unexpected from the usually loud genin, but suddenly he raised his head and with fire in his eyes he jumped over the railing. Focusing back on the arena floor, Naruto raised an eyebrow curiously as he watched the serious expression Lee wore, fire still metaphorically burning within his eyes. _–Excitement, fear, and yet unfound confidence. Perhaps even a hint of expectation? This match obviously means a lot to Lee, I wonder why? –_

XXXXX

With Neji and Lee now both in place, Hayate raised his hand. "Are both contestants ready?"

Lee nodded with his usual energy, but Neji wrinkled his nose and sneered at Lee. "Before we begin Lee, I feel for the sake that you are my teammate that I must say something. Simply forfeit, you know you cannot win."

"I'm afraid I must decline to do that Neji! To do so would mean wasting all the training I have undertaken with Gai-sensei!" yelled Lee, his voice not quite a yell for once. "And…You know how much I have waited to fight you like we are now. I for one will not let my dream be discarded so easily."

"Fool, it's your destiny to lose to me. Have I not shown that to you enough during all those pathetic spars you have challenged to me before?"

"Even a dead last like I was can defeat a genius like you Neji, with hard work! And…I was holding back before, so as to not harm you."

"Hmph, do you really except me to believe that?" Neji activated his Byakugan, sneering even more when he saw the pure confidence Lee was radiating. "Fate has already determined the winner of this match, and it certainly is not you. If you cannot see that, then I shall force you to in the end." He slipped into his Jyuuken stance and nodded toward the proctor.

"Now then, let the final match of the first round…Begin!" yelled Hayate, seconds before he vanished out of the arena.

The two charged, Lee obviously the fastest of the two. But when they met in taijutsu, that speed was quickly lost as Neji fluid movements, along with his Byakugan, allowed him to brush aside even the hardest attack Lee threw at him. Chakra glowed around Neji's palms as he jabbed at Lee's arms and legs, and only with the knowledge that Gai-sensei had drilled into Lee's mind was he able to avoid them enough for Neji to miss his targets, the tenketsu points. After several minutes of exchanging blows, Neji was successful in closing the tenketsu points along Lee's left arm and Lee knocked Neji off balance with a partial leg sweep. The two separated, Lee carefully nursing his arm with the other.

"Again I stress that you should forfeit Lee. With your arm now disabled, your so called odds of winning are now below zero." Neji said. His confident smirk was still plastered on his face. Lee didn't respond, simply staring at his now limp arm with a strange gaze. When he looked at Neji again, his eyes were still very much defiant to Neji's dislike. "I will win Neji, and prove to all that I can be a true shinobi despite my lack of ninjutsu and genjutsu! And to do that…I shall no longer hold back!"

Neji watched warily as Lee bent down and removed his leg warmers, revealing the leg weights he wore underneath. Carefully he removed them, and with a quick toss he sent them to the edge of the arena, making the ground where they landed erupt and become two fair sized craters. Neji was slightly surprised, since the last time he had seen Lee's weights they had not been as heavy as they were now, but still he stood there impassively as Lee stretched slightly to adjust to the lost weight on his legs. He then slipped back into his Jyuuken stance as Lee returned to his Goken stance. "Now Neji, feel the full power of youth!" Lee vanished after that, and Neji went flying.

XXXXX

Far away, near the borders of the Land of Fire, three average sized boats made land along a small deserted beach. With the anchors down, several black shapes vanished from the decks and into the tree line nearby. Itachi moved at the front of his small shinobi force, Haku and Zabuza only a few feet behind him. His Sharingan was spinning almost lazily as it kept track of everything around and in front of him, while Haku and Zabuza merely kept a wary eye on their surroundings.

_-We have made excellent time, cutting at least three days off our expected arrival time. –_ thought Itachi. _–Although now that we must deal with the thick forests of the Land of Fire, I fear we might loose those days and more. –_ He frowned slightly as he glanced behind himself toward the shinobi following him. _–If only we didn't have so many… -_

Haku suddenly spoke up, breaking Itachi out of his inner musings. "Itachi-san…" Itachi turned his sight slightly to the side, gazing at Haku from the corner of his eye. "Was it really a wise decision to send Naruto-kun to Konoha? I know he is strong, but considering the threat of Orochimaru, and his history there…" She stopped there, biting her lip slightly in worry.

"Naruto-kun has told me on several occasions of how he had unfinished business with those he considered precious during his time in Konoha. Because of this, I decided to assign him this mission so as to settle these things during his free time there." Itachi turned his gaze forward again, having sensed that the foliage ahead was too dense to be distracted in. "And I gave him orders to avoid Orochimaru if possible. Naruto-kun still holds a deep hatred for the snake because of his attempt on my body, and more than likely he would use Kyuubi's chakra as a result. While in Konoha, to do such a thing is far too dangerous."

"I understand Itachi-san, but…" Itachi briefly shifted his gaze back at her, his Sharingan mesmerizing her. Just as quickly as he had turned he returned to facing forward again. "Haku, I know that you love Naruto-kun, perhaps more so than I have seen anyone in a long time, but that does not mean you have to fuss over him so much. The hospital has already had to deal with your jealousy streak a little too much, and Hinote is still banned from being admitted thanks to her flirting with some of the younger medics there. Need I remind you why she was there so much in the first place to cause such a thing?"

Haku's cheeks flushed at Itachi's words, the events he mentioned far too clear in her mind. Zabuza chuckled a little at his former tools behavior, but otherwise he decided to leave the poor girl alone. The trio and the squad of shinobi around them traveled in silence for a time, but as they passed into an open clearing Itachi decided to say one last thing on the matter. "Naruto-kun is a boy who would never upset his precious people, and a promise he makes is one you can count on to be fulfilled. Have faith in him Haku, and he will repay you ten fold as a result."

Smiling at Itachi's words, Haku doubled her pace and dived back into the forests of Konoha. _–You promised to never leave me Naruto-kun, and so I believe you will return. But still…please be safe. –_

XXXXX

Neji was admittedly a lot tougher than his thin and pale skinned body made him seem. After the first few volley of punches and kicks, he adapted to Lee's sudden boost in speed and successfully parried the blows from landing on him again. They moved across the arena, this dance of leg and fist almost a blur at the speed they moved. Lee's eyes practically burned with fire as he pressed his assault on Neji, and the veins around Neji's eyes seemed to pulse with the additional chakra he forced into his Byakugan. Fist met palm, and the sudden force of chakra from Neji's strike sent them flying back, their feet digging into the ground for traction.

Lee didn't waste time and moved again, appearing behind Neji with a leg already halfway into a kick. Neji ducked, bent completely at the waist, and he used his hands for support so he could kick Lee away and turn. Lee back flipped moments before a chakra encased palm could strike his stomach, and he followed up with a rising kick that landed on Neji's chin. The Hyuuga however flowed with the strike and did his own back flip, and once again the two were separated from the other.

_-He's gotten faster since our last spar, but that always seems to be the case with Lee. – _thought Neji. He scowled as pain flared up along his arms and chest. _–And his punches are powerful beyond compare. If I didn't know that fate had deemed me the winner, I would almost expect Lee to win this match. –_

They charged again, delivering palm strikes and devastating kicks to each other. Lee at one point vanished for a moment from Neji's view, much to his surprise, and then with a strong kick to his chin again Lee sent Neji high into his air. Lee paused in his assault, taking the time to unwrap some of his bandages from around his hands. With the necessary amount now loose, he jumped up to Neji and floated in the air underneath him.

"Now Neji, feel the full power of Youth!" Lee yelled. His bandages wrapped themselves around Neji like a cocoon, and with both arms locked around it Lee dived back toward the ground. He began spinning, adding even more destructive force to his pile drive, and as he released his package and jumped away he yelled the attack out.

"**Omote Renge!"**

The mighty pile driver kicked up earth and dust, the crater it made only adding to the attacks impressive strength. Lee collapsed to his knees a few seconds later, exhaustion flowing through him and his tired muscles. "Did…did I win?" he whispered. As the smoke began to clear, he saw Neji lying on the ground, but soon shock crossed his face as Neji easily arose and glared at Lee.

"But...But that is impossible! You should be unconscious, paralyzed even!" Lee yelled. Neji huffed and wiped some dirt from his shoulder, and then smirked at Lee. "Fool, did you really think I would loose? Need I remind you of your fate?" Byakugan flaring, Neji charged at Lee, palm encased with chakra. Lee tried to move, but he had yet to recover fully from the Omote yet. Blood and spit flew from his mouth as Neji struck his chest, and then the beating began. Neji moved easily around Lee, striking tenketsu and damaging organs. Lee tried to defend, even crossing his arms in sacrifice to save his chest, but Neji easily moved through it all. With yet another strong palm of chakra, Neji sent Lee flying.

"Give it up Lee. I have sealed most of your tenketsu by now. What's more, your muscles are almost useless from all the damage I have done and your organs are badly damaged." Neji said. Lee desperately tried to rise, but a flare of pain from his left leg made him fall again.

"I…I won't…lose…" Lee made it to his knees, but Neji closed in and knocked him back down with a strike to the shoulder. "I…won't…LOSE!"

Neji flinched when chakra suddenly flowed from Lee, temporarily blinding him. As his vision began to clear, a fist was in his vision before it sent him flying back. Two kicks, another punch, and an elbow followed, before Neji lost track of what Lee was exactly using to beat him. Lee finally ended with a strong punch to the stomach, and he stood there calmly as Neji now struggled to stand.

"You have never seen me fight with the Hachimon, have you Neji?" asked Lee. "Gai-sensei showed me how to open some of them so I could use my more powerful attacks." Lee clenched his fists and slipped into his stance. "That was the **Kaimon**, and this is where everything changes, prepare yourself Neji!"

XXXXX

Naruto looked at Uindo and raised an eyebrow. "You know, this fight is actually pretty impressive. It's nothing like ours yet, but still…"

Uindo nodded. "Yeah, it's not everyday you meet someone so young who can open the Hachimon. Add into the fact that Neji seems to know some of the main branches jutsu, despite being a branch member as I've heard, and you got an impressive match like you said."

"Neji knows some of the main branch jutsu? How do you know that?"

Uindo's eyes flashed green, and then he pointed over at the crater made by Lee's Omote Renge. "Neji used the Kaiten when he was wrapped up inside the bandages. Using Lee's own momentum, he was able to spin his chakra underneath the bandages and stop the damage almost altogether."

Naruto whistled and leaned against the railing. "Wow, he's certainly not your average Hyuuga. My guess is that he learned how to do that just by watching the main branch practice it, and then copy it from what he saw later on."

"Yep, now quiet down Naruto, I want to see if Neji can pull a miracle out of his ass." Naruto merely chuckled in reply before focusing on the match again alongside Uindo. _–I wonder…if he knows Kaiten, could he also know…? -_

XXXXX

Neji's beating suddenly halted as Lee kicked him away and struck a pose, one arm behind his back with the other raised in a beckoning motion. He slowed his breathing slightly, and then stepped out of his stance altogether. "That is enough, I can see now that you are truly defeated Neji. I suggest we call this to an end so that…"

"SHUT UP!" Neji spit blood at Lee's feet and rose shakily to his feet. "Don't you dare, don't you dare think you can win Lee, not for a second! You are a loser! You are pathetic! And I will not allow myself to fall to you!" Unrivaled fury burned in Neji's eyes, Byakugan enhancing the sight. Lee sighed, and then his saddened gaze locked eyes with Neji's. "Neji…can't you see? You're blind and stupid hatred for the Hyuuga clan, your own clan…it's blinded those all seeing eyes of yours. If you keep this up…" Lee shook his head. "Your flames will die, and with them will your life follow."

"SHUT UP! Fate has declared me the winner long ago in this fight, and I will kill you for even thinking you can change yours!" Neji slipped back into his Jyuuken stance, his earlier fatigue seemingly gone, and with that Lee hardened his resolve and charged. When he pulled his fist back to punch however, his eyes widened as he saw chakra build up around Neji.

"**Kaiten!"**

A swirling dome of chakra rammed into Lee, sending him flying back. As he recovered and stood, the words yelled behind him, spoken in an ice cold tone, made Lee realize how far Neji was prepared to go.

"**Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!**"

XXXXX

"The Hyuuga boy seems very…disturbed…Hokage-sama." The Kazekage muttered. His quiet words were barely heard over the angry yells of Neji as he counted the strikes he inflicted upon Lee.

Sarutobi glanced at Gaara, taking a moment to inspect the disguise subconsciously, before nodding and lowering the tip of his hat sadly. "Indeed. It is something I've had the unfortunate pleasure of seeing often enough within the branch family of the Hyuuga clan. Most of them quickly take up the 'Fate' complex once the seal is placed on their heads, but some of them simply do not stop at that, more so the shinobi in their ranks than anyone else. They may seem to have accepted their fates, and so preach to others about not being able to change theirs, but deep down something seems to take root."

"And what is that Hokage-sama?"

"I've never really understood what it is fully, but essentially imagine a mouse, cornered by a cat. You have heard of this situation, right Kazekage-sama?"

The Kazekage, Gaara, nodded. "Yes. The cat is clearly the hunter and superior being in this encounter, but even with this obvious one sided conflict, the mouse fights back with all that it has to escape. Sometimes it may even succeed in escaping the cat, but more than likely it will be eaten after tiring itself out beyond a chance of escape." He paused in thought, then continued. "How does that reflect upon the branch family Hokage-sama?"

"The cat for them is Fate, while they are the mouse." Sarutobi paused and pulled out his pipe, lighting it and taking a quick puff to relieve his nerves. "They accept that Fate is guiding them to their doom, the proverbial dead end of this comparison, but as time passes a rebelling force grows within them. They don't want Fate to be their decider. They want to escape, to live beyond what is expected of them. Far too often a branch member has been reported killed on a mission, having stepped up during a suicide situation to try and escape Fate, either through death or glory that a branch member is mostly denied."

"Doesn't this attitude concern the Elders of the Hyuuga clan? With this repetition of deaths and 'Fate' rebellion, it is surely only a matter of time before the branch family rises up in revolt, which is the ultimate rebellion to their so called 'Fate' in my opinion."

Sarutobi responded with only a sigh at first, his age showing under the shadow of his hat. Gaara watched in interest at this sudden transformation, having known the Hokage's age but never having truly seen it in the man. _–Such power and seeming grace within a frail body…But I doubt he can keep this up for much longer… -_ thought Gaara.

"The Elders are fully aware of that being a possible occurrence, but their arrogance blinds them from believing something like that would actually happen. And so long as the main branch stays safe and only branch members die…then they could care less." The sudden cry of Lee's voice made them both turn to the arena below again, and both of them frowned at they saw the battered Lee on the ground with Neji stomping on the boy.

"Then not only will one more branch member possibly die today, but they just might seal the Fate, and death, of the Hyuuga clan altogether…" whispered Gaara. Although not intending for Sarutobi to hear his words, the elder Hokage still heard it and lowered his hat a little more. This action thankfully hid the tear that slipped down his face.

XXXXX

Neji stomped on Lee's stomach once more before walking off, breathing heavily and pushing his hair back over his shoulder. "There, in the dirt like you should be." Although he had deactivated his Byakugan after completing his attack, when he turned his head to glare at Lee his normal pale eyes were not lacking in the coldness and malice it would've had with them active "Now stay there, and perhaps I will allow you to walk away from this fight alive Lee."

"Y…You…are…not…t…t…the winner…yet…" Lee's voice was so quiet, not even Neji could hear it clearly. Lee's fingers twitched, but he could not move otherwise. "I…ca…can…still…win…"

"Hah! As if someone in your condition could even stand…" Neji turned fully to face Lee, and he crossed his arms. "I've not only closed off most of your tenketsu points, but I've also ripped several of your muscles and your organs are almost mush. If you ever wish to continue your career as a shinobi, no matter how pathetic it is, then surrender is your only choice."

"T…that is…where, you…are…wrong, Neji." Lee smiled. "K…**Kyumon**…**KAI!"**

Chakra flowed from Lee's prone form, and in a seeming miracle moment he stood shakily, before crossing his arms in front of his chest and face. **"Seimon, KAI!"** More chakra emerged from his body, and this time the force of it sent Neji flying back. Muscles bulged and veins formed all over Lee, but he did not stop yet. **"Shomon**…**KAI!!"**

His skin became red from the increased blood flow, and his eyes seemingly vanished into two white pools that glowed with chakra. His own chakra, now spiraling around him, turned green with the power of the gates empowering it, and it continued to build as Lee now bent his knees and held his arms to the side of his body. "And finally, the fifth gate…**TOMON, KAI!!**"

The ground dipped under him and electricity seemingly flew across his body. Lee now seemed like a red berserker in this gate empowered form, and the power he was showing off only added emphasis to it. Neji tried to activate his Byakugan, but the chakra was so fierce that it blinded him within seconds of trying to activate it. Lee clenched one fist, and the ground under it dipped a little more. "I will beat that foolish belief of fate out of you Neji! And I will prove that I am indeed a powerful and skilled shinobi. And I shall do it…" He vanished, the sound barrier breaking within the few feet he moved to close in on Neji. "NOW!"

Neji flew, his jaw completely shattered by the blow Lee delivered. He soared high into the air, and then Lee appeared in front of him again. From there only the brief bursts of chakra and the constant sounds of the sound barrier breaking could allow anyone to track Lee's movements. Neji was literally like a pinball in Lee's hands, flying through the air with no end as he bounced from bone shattering blow to bone shattering blow. After what seemed forever Lee punched Neji down toward the arena, breaking the remaining ribs in his chest, but then something pulled hard around Neji's waist. He looked down, and stared in shock at the bandages that Lee had tied around him. Lee pulled on them, and Neji flew straight into the awaiting fist and leg above. As he made contact, he barely registered striking out with the last of his strength, hitting Lee right over the heart with a chakra coated palm.

"**URA RENGE!"**

The impact was loud, thunderous and kicking up incredible amounts of dust. Lee landed on the outskirts of the dust cloud, the gates now closed and his body useless for anything else. He collapsed instantly, but despite the severity of his health he had a smile on his face. When the dust cloud cleared, it was revealed that Neji was no better off. His body was in complete ruins, bones in odd angles and blood matting most of his clothing. His face was contorted into pain, but it was obvious he was unconscious just like Lee was. Hayate quickly rushed to the arena floor from his position, and with a quick call for medics he raised his hand.

"Since both opponent are both unconscious, I declare this match a tie." He coughed and quickly turned his head toward the approaching medic-nin. "Hurry up! They're both in terrible shape and need immediate attention, NOW!"

XXXXX

Naruto stood in silent prayer for the well being of both warriors. _–That match…there was way too much emotion in it. Neji and Lee both pushed themselves so hard, but while Lee's reasons were fine in most regards, Neji foolish logic nearly ended his life and his teammates. How could Konoha have created such…fucked up kids? –_

"**Humans are not saints, and those who call themselves such are nothing of the kind."** The Kyuubi said. **"The Hyuuga's are one such occurrence. They claim they are a noble clan, but their own acts and customs to their own people make them anything but. It is only a matter of time before they kill themselves off because of this."**

_-I wonder if a treaty with Konoha is such a good idea after all. To think they would ignore such…stupidity…and from a clan in their own village! –_

"**If you are asking me, than you are misguided in whom you ask. I have seen countless injustices in my long years of life, some obvious to the world and others hidden among villages and their allies. And yet, even with such things so obvious, they remain allies or are for the most part ignored by the world. Such is the thing about humanity. After all, they are the ones causing it in the first place, who are they to judges themselves?"**

Naruto didn't say anything in response. Taking a quick glance at Neji and Lee being carried off, he turned to Uindo. "We're up next Uindo."

Uindo nodded, speaking slowly as if unsure. "Yeah…we are…" Neither of them spoke up after that, remaining silent in their own thoughts as they watched the repairs down below.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:** This is a revised edition of Chapter 8. I hope you enjoyed it! (Any previous Author Notes of revised chapters no longer exist)


	9. Chapter 9

"Normal Speech"

_-Thoughts-_

**"Demon Speech"**

**"Jutsu!"**

XXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 9: The Final Matches and the Invasion

Repairs, just like last time, were quickly finished. But before the next round could begin, the Hokage and Kazekage had decided on a small intermission so everyone could stretch their legs a little, allowing the contestants some time to prepare for the next round also. Shikamaru decided to take this time to catch up on some sleep, but while he rested on the far end of the waiting box, Uindo and Naruto were silently talking about their match on the other side.

"Perhaps we should decide by who has the least chakra?" asked Uindo. Naruto quickly shook his head. "That won't work Uindo. Since I can't use Kyuubi's chakra in Konoha safely beyond healing, that leaves us with roughly the same amount of chakra apiece."

"Then how the hell can we decide who takes the fall? We're both pretty much equals outside my bloodline and the Kyuubi, since my experience is balanced out by your incredible stamina and healing."

"Well…how about flipping a coin?"

Uindo opened his mouth to reply, but suddenly the waiting box doors banged opened. Hinote walked in, smiling like a loon, and Temari followed behind her with Kankuro leaning on her shoulder. Hinote thankfully was a lot better off in the clothing department then earlier, having put on clothing identical to the first set she had worn. The only key difference in her appearance was that her hair was down and a small golden hair ornament, designed in the shape of a serpent dragon, was holding her hair back along the left side of her face. The right side was slightly obscured by the remainder of her hair, but she just casually brushed it aside and over her shoulder.

"Uindo, Naruto! What's up?" she yelled, marching right up to them with a bounce in her step. It was like she hadn't just drained herself dry of charka and nearly died without the quick intervention of Uindo. "Did I miss the last match while I was out?"

"Yeah you did…but I think everyone would be better off without having seen it." Naruto muttered. Hinote titled her head in confusion, but after the two blondes had told her about the fight, she nodded her head in agreement. "Sheesh, to think the Hyuuga's are so messed up. Kinda makes you wonder what the hell the Hokage thinks he's doing by ignoring that stuff."

"Well I believe the Hyuuga are finally running some damage control. I think the clan head was heading down to the clinic to talk to Neji earlier…But I'm not too sure." Uindo said.

"Speaking of the clinic, why is Kankuro back up here Temari? And how's Sasuke doing?" Naruto asked.

"Sasori couldn't teach me anything else at the moment with my reserves so low, something about performing examples in order to continue." muttered Kankuro. "I figured I might as well come up here and watch the remainder of the fights."

"As for Sasuke…" Hinote paused, giggling into her hand as a blush lit up her face. Weirdly enough, Temari blushed as well behind her. "He certainly seemed fine after I woke him up!"

"…" Uindo and Naruto both exchanged glances, but wisely kept quiet. _–I don't think I want to know… -_ they both thought. The Kyuubi chuckled perversely within Naruto's mind in response.

"Anyway…" Temari coughed and the blush faded from her face a little. "He's awake now and having the soldier pill toxin being removed from his coils. He didn't want to go through with it at first, but then Hinote reminded him…discreetly…" Something about how Temari said that made the other two blondes doubt it was anything but. "That there was an invasion after the exams and that he had to help fight off the Oto-nin. He reluctantly complied after that."

"Okay…well the purging process does have the fortunate effect of getting him ready to fight afterwards, but how come you're not in bed yourself Hinote?" asked Naruto.

"As if a beauty such as I could stay in some stupid hospital bed! That would be a great injustice to my opponents, who would miss the chance of being killed by me!" Everyone present, including Shikamaru who had awakened sometime during all of this, sweatdropped at her words and the cocky laugh that followed. "But seriously? I had a chakra transfusion with a willing medic-nin, so I'm at about 50 percent. That should be plenty to fight in the invasion with, especially if I use my bloodline to reduce some of the cost."

"Just remember Hinote…" Hinote stopped her brother with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"I know bro, I'll be fine."

Hayate's voice suddenly calling out from the arena surprised everyone in the waiting box, having missed the return of the crowd and continuation of the exam. "Now then, we shall continue the exams and start up the only match of the second round. Will Naruto Uzumaki and Uindo please report to the arena floor?"

The two opponents looked at each, one flashing red slit eyes and the other flashing solid green orbs. Together they broke their gazes, and they vanished in a pillar of smoke and leaves. Hinote walked over to the railing and watched the two appear down in the arena, and then hummed a little in thought. "I wonder who'll win…"

"You don't know?" asked Temari.

"Not really. They both have some form of handicap on them, mostly to protect everyone from being killed in the crossfire, but also to protect Naruto from any…wild cards, that might exist in the Konoha-nin ranks. I doubt they've stopped hating the fox even after all these years." Hinote glanced at the sword strapped to Naruto's back. "He'll probably use Kyuubi in the fight at some point, so he's risking it by showing off the nine distinct chain whips it can transform into."

"So if Naruto can't use Kyuubi, what does Uindo have going against him?"

"It's the same thing that Naruto has actually. Neither of them can go all out in a fight, since they're mostly heavy hitters in terms of their jutsu library and their style of fighting." Hinote threw a small apologetic smile at Temari. "Truth be told Temari, Uindo was going pretty easy on you. If he wanted to, his speed and bloodline could've ended your match in a matter of seconds."

Temari as expected got pretty angry, but then suddenly she calmed down and lowered her head. "Yeah, I know that. When he explained your bloodline earlier, I could guess just how powerful he really is. It actually seems…nice of him, to fight me even with such a gap in skill." A blush grew on her cheeks.

"Hey now it's not that big of a one!" Temari shot Hinote a look. "…Okay, so maybe he could take on any ANBU pretty easily, but you're a chuunin already with your skills and strength." Again Temari shot her another look, so this time Hinote simply laughed nervously and turned to watch the fight.

XXXXX

"Are both contestants ready?" Hayate glanced between Uindo and Naruto. The two looked at each other, and then nodded to Hayate simultaneously. "Then let the first and final match of the second round…BEGIN!"

When Hayate jumped clear, Uindo and Naruto both unsheathed their swords and calmly took a step closer to each other. With the second step chakra began to visibly swirl around them. The third had wind blowing across the arena, so fierce that many in the crowd were shielding their eyes. The fourth step had that wind concentrate around Uindo's sword, taking on the wavering form of a sword's silhouette and extending a foot beyond the tip of the real one. The fifth step had Naruto's sword suddenly split into its chain-whip form, with lighting, fire, and wind running up three of the chains apiece. They both paused in their steps, their eyes locked as Uindo's became solid green orbs, and then they nodded. One step more, the sixth so far, and they vanished from view.

The battle after that could only be described as chaos. Although neither of them could be seen, the residue from their clashes struck the arena without care. Lightning struck trees, wind scarred the walls and arena floor, and fire scorched all that it touched. Amidst this element clash the sound of swords clashing rang out as well, but not once did they slow in these clashes for anyone to see. Kakashi had revealed his Sharingan eye early on, but even he could not fully track their movements. It was only thanks to the chakra residue they left behind that he could even piece together their movements, which baffled him slightly. Not once had they seemingly touched the ground, and sometimes it was obvious that they had turned midair to attack. Perhaps if he had arrived earlier than he had, he might've realized it was Uindo's powers at work, with Naruto doing it as well somehow, but alas he was clueless.

Several clouds of smoke suddenly appeared around the arena, signifying that Naruto had made several clones, only to have them cut down before they could even move. Shuriken and kunai also began to appear across the arena, some destroyed or imbedded in various objects, and some of them even vanished in clouds of smoke as well. It took another minute after this sudden change in fighting before both Uindo and Naruto finally appeared, Uindo standing in the air thanks to his bloodline and Naruto copying him with two near solid looking blocks of chakra barely visible under his feet. They rushed through hand signs and shouted out their jutsu together.

"**Futon: Daitoppa!"**

"**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!"**

A great cyclone of wind shot out from in front of Uindo, crashing against a vortex of water from Naruto. Both jutsu struggled for dominance, pushing back and forth and sometimes closing in on one of the users, but soon it became obvious that neither would win. Both attacks died off together, but behind the dying wind and water stood Uindo and Naruto, each holding a hand sign after completing yet another jutsu.

"**Raiton: Gian!"**

"**Raiton: Rairyudan!"**

Extending both hands with palms facing outward, Uindo gathered lightning in them before shooting off two powerful bolts at Naruto. The sheer power they exhumed made it seem as if the light was dimming around them. Naruto swung his sword, the chains wrapping around each other into one giant chain-whip, and a dragon made of lightning formed around it. It roared, deafening some people in the lower rows of the crowd, and then it charged, crashing into the two lightning bolts. Like before both jutsu struggled to win, the only difference being that Uindo moved one of the bolts to try and pass the dragon and strike Naruto. Naruto responded by using four of his chains to turn his dragon into a two headed one, each head fighting one of the bolts. The jutsu's struggled for an unknown amount of time, before the power clashing in the center of them built beyond the limit. A flash of light, and then a terrible explosion sent both fighters back. When they recovered, they stared at each other with grins on their faces, and then charged for more close range combat.

XXXXX

"Remind me again why the fuck we have to do this shit again?"

Three simultaneous sighs replied the question. Tayuya, the hot headed red head who had asked the question, glared at her three teammates. "What? You got a fucking problem with my question assholes?"

"Tayuya…" Jirobo began, only to have Tayuya smack him over his orange mohawk head. "Shut up fatso! I don't give a damn about being a lady or anything, so cut the gentleman crap already! It's seriously messed up coming from you…"

"Just shut up already Tayuya." Kidomaru hissed, all six of his arms crossed over his chest in annoyance. "Do you want any of the ANBU to find us before the invasion begins?"

"I just don't see why the hell we should bother with this shit is all. I mean, ever since snake fag suddenly changed his plans, this whole invasion has gone to the dogs and there's no way any of us are gonna win." Tayuya waved a hand to the Hokage's box, which was visible from the tree they all were hiding in. "How the hell are we suppose to fucking fight not only the Hokage, but the goddamn jinchuriki of Suna!"

"In case you forgot, the jinchuriki is on our side Tayuya." said Sakon. On his back, Ukon's head shifted slightly, but otherwise did nothing else. "With him helping us, I'm sure we'll win. If all else fails, then we'll just escape before they can catch us."

Tayuya sighed, rubbing her forehead with a couple fingers, and then grudgingly sat down on her tree branch to wait for the signal. _–I've SO got a bad feeling about this shit… -_ Above them all, an eye made of sand carefully watched them, relaying everything back to Gaara who carefully read their lips. The veil over his face thankfully hid the sudden mad grin he sported.

XXXXX

"**Kaze Kiwa!"**

"**Rasengan!"**

A swirling drill of wind and chakra drilled into the Rasengan's chaotic core. When it finally ruptured the shell around it all, the sudden outward blast of chakra sent both of them flying back. Naruto recovered first, forming another Rasengan in his right hand, and then a clone appeared beside him with another Rasengan in its own hand. Uindo, seeing the step up in attack, did the same thing for himself but with two Kaze Kiwa. They charged, and again when the two clashed with their jutsu the effect sent them flying back. This time however right into the walls of the arena, cracking the stone slightly behind them. Both Naruto's burst into smoke, and Uindo seemingly dissolved into the wind.

Uindo and Naruto, the real ones, appeared on the battered arena floor across from each other. Uindo looked over his clothing, noting the few cuts and ripped fabric, before smiling at Naruto. "Okay then Naruto, that's enough for a warm up. Let's hit the big ones now and finish this up!" Many in the crowd gasped in surprise, and Naruto smiled back at Uindo as he nodded. In a flash of light, Uindo's sword transformed into his violin, his eyes turning from blue to solid green orbs, and with a quick clearing of his throat he raised his violin up to play.

"I'm a leaf in the wind, watch how I soar…"

Music filled the arena, and with it came a gust of wind. It built along with the music, and soon Naruto found himself sticking to the ground with the aide of chakra. Uindo stood in the center of this wind storm, playing a furious tune that reminded all listening of a great battle that was revving up to begin. The wind began to focus, centering around Uindo and by his sides. Two small tornado's, each roughly Uindo's size, formed and picked up leaves on either side of him. Another one also appeared in front of him, but all it did was gather leaves before flying up into the air and dissipating, leaving the leaves to float in the air. Uindo held one note, and the leaves within both the tornado's and in the air began to glow with chakra.

"**Konoha Shuriken! Konoha Shigure!"**

Leaves shot out from the tornados and toward Naruto, while as Uindo began playing down the musical scale the leaves in the air pelted the ground like the rain they imitated. Both attacks landed simultaneously where Naruto had stood, but once the dust cleared all that remained was a battered section of the ring. Naruto appeared behind Uindo, sword bathed in chakra as the chains formed from the blade and wrapped themselves around Uindo.

"**Ninpo: Sendo Shibari!"**

The chains tightened around Uindo, drawing blood and scrapping against bone. But then he blew away like the wind and another Uindo appeared in front of Naruto. He shoved a kunai into Naruto's heart, but as the clone dispelled three more jumped out of the ground and sliced Uindo into pieces. Wind gathered Uindo's body pieces together and reformed him as a whole, and then the clone smirked as he sent a wave of wind at the clones. They dispelled within seconds, but not before throwing several kunai at Uindo. The exploding tags on them hissed before detonating, and after wind blew the dust away the arena was revealed to be empty of either opponent.

Sounds of swords clashing rang out in the arena, and then Uindo appeared. His sword changed back into a violin, and Uindo played a quick tune that spoke of dancing.

"**Makaze: Enka!"**

The same wavering clones from earlier formed all around the arena as the Uindo playing also took on the same appearance. They vanished for a moment, and then reappeared, and Naruto did as well with his hands in a hand sign.

"**Katon: Gouryuka no Jutsu!"**

He shot off three giant dragon heads, each bellowing fire from their mouths, and once they landed three explosions shook the arena. The Uindo clones appeared unharmed from the destruction, but this time they did not shuffle around. They all circled Naruto, and once the circle was closed they all summoned up a human sized tornado in front of themselves.

"**Makaze: Hakkyou!"**

A towering wall of wind formed in front of the clones and shot the tornados toward Naruto. He dodged each of them, some coming close to landing, and once they all passed he smirked in victory. That quickly vanished once the wind wall around him pulsed and shot the tornados back at him. This time he failed to dodge one, and when he slammed into the ground from its impact the rest quickly bounced from the wind wall and slammed into him from all sides. Over and over this beat down continued, until they all vanished and the wind wall began to rotate. It gathered speed, growing faster and faster as the clones outside of it began to run around Naruto as well. Naruto slowly stood, blood trickling down his face, and he cursed as he watched the final step of Makaze form. _–Shit! No time to escape, and there's no way I'm gonna manage to avoid being hit by this. –_ A groan escaped his lips as one of his more sensitive bruises rubbed against his clothes. _–I knew I should've thought out how to counter this move a little more. –_

The real Uindo suddenly appeared above his clones and Naruto, sword in hand and above his head. Wind formed at its tip, and once it was compact enough, Uindo swung his sword down and launched the wind ball at Naruto.

"**Makaze: Kurasshu!"**

The ball of compact wind struck the ground, missing Naruto by a foot, but quickly expanded out and slammed Naruto down to the ground with its fierce pressure. When the wind struck the rotating wind wall, the wall pulsed one, before collapsing inwards atop Naruto. His screams filled the arena as the winds shredded him with the help of chakra. Blood could even be seen flying out at times, and then a good sized piece of Naruto's orange shirt flew out, ragged and dirty with blood. When the wind wall finally died off, Naruto stood there rigidly, face up toward the sky. His arms were limp by his side and his legs threatened to buckle from under him. To add to this image, blood ran down his body from various cuts and his eyes were blank white orbs, a good sign of being unconscious. Uindo landed without a noise on the ground, sword sheathed and a worried expression on his face.

"Oops!" He nervously chuckled. "Did I go too far?" Uindo carefully walked closer to Naruto, but still the other blonde did not respond or move. He reached out and touched Naruto's shoulder, only for the blonde to collapse into a pile of mud. Uindo gasped, but then he was tied up by three clones that slowly rose from the ground around him.

"Ya know…" Naruto, the real one, slowly stepped out from behind an intact tree. "Sensei always said I'd need another type of clone one day, what with Kage Bunshin not being able to stand up to much. Guess he was right." He chuckled, and then snapped his fingers at his three clones. **"Ninpo: Sendo Shibari!"**

Before his clones could fulfill his command, Uindo exploded in a large gust of wind. When the wind died off, the real Uindo floated down from the sky and titled his head at Naruto. "So you're still alive huh? Good!" His eyes reverted back to their normal blue. "That was an excellent fight Naruto, definitely a crowd pleaser. But now let's finish this before the arena is destroyed."

With those words both charged, fist raised and screaming out a battle cry. Many in the audience leaned forward in their seats, hoping to see something cool and amazing. The fight had kept everyone, shinobi and Kage's included, tense in anticipation. Nobody was able to really predict what was going to happen next, so seeing the end of this fight finally had many excited and charged up. Uindo and Naruto closed in, raising their fists a little more, and then they struck.

"Jan-Ken-Pon!"

As the arena shook from everyone face faulting, Uindo and Naruto stared intently at their outstretched hands. Naruto's was closed tightly in a fist, while Uindo only had two fingers extended. They stared at this for a moment longer, before Naruto started dancing around in victory while Uindo hung his head in loss.

"Yahoo! Lady Luck is with me like always!" shouted Naruto. "Too bad Uindo, maybe you'll luck out next time?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" Uindo waved a hand dismissively. "I should've known not to risk this match on luck…"

After another minute of celebration, during which everyone had recovered from their sudden meeting with the floor, Naruto finally stopped and turned to Hayate. "Hey Proctor! My opponent forfeits!" Hayate looked over to Uindo, and after the blonde nodded, he coughed and raised his hand.

"Since Uindo has forfeited the match, I declare Naruto Uzumaki the winner of the match!"

XXXXX

As the sound of people cheering and booing echoed behind them, Uindo and Naruto casually walked up the stairs together. All the damage they had sustained during the fight had vanished by now, their genjutsu's dropped or Kyuubi's chakra having fixed it all by now. As they finished one flight, Uindo looked over at Naruto. "That was a nice little trick back there Naruto, whispering to me about the Jan-Ken when you started to squeeze me with those chains of yours."

"No problem." Naruto replied. "Your Makaze combos are definitely very deadly, but that Kurasshu part has a flaw. You can escape underground easily since the wind is all concentrated above ground and your attention is there too."

"What about Hakkyou?"

"Same weakness, the only difference is that you can just have the tornados dig into the ground and ruin the escape."

"Ah." Silence filled the space between them as they reached the top of the stairs. "So how did you…"

"A clone was working with Kyuubi to improve my control with the Rasengan. If you had looked over to the stairs you'd probably have seen it behind the doors."

Another brief pause came between them. "You know…I'd have won if we'd really gone all out."

Naruto sputtered in offense. "What?! You've got to be kidding me! You know that I'd be the one standing over you in the end, no way some stupid bloodline's gonna beat me!"

Uindo grinned and then laughed. "Oh yeah? Then how come sensei's always beating you in your spars?"

"That's different! He's had years more experience than me, and his stupid Sharingan is always giving him an advantage against the fur ball when he tries to help out."

"I thought you don't usually want the Kyuubi to help you?"

"Doesn't mean he'll always listen to me…"

Uindo simply laughed again, while Naruto crossed his arms and grumbled under his breath. By that time they had reached the doors to the waiting box, so they quickly went inside, only for Naruto to be tackled by Hinote in a victory hug. Naruto began to protest, but then Hinote played her trump card by trapping his head in her chest. Needless to say he froze up, and Uindo only added to his problems by simply standing nearby with his arms crossed, an amused expression on his face while Kankuro laughed out loud in the background. When his face began to turn blue Temari decided to save him by pulling Hinote free and scolding the girl. She ignored Temari and simply turned to Uindo, patting him on the back and smiling.

"Too bad Uindo, I guess you shouldn't have tried to beat Naruto by luck huh?" she said.

"It's no big deal Hinote. Somebody had to win after all, and this way we didn't have to drain ourselves too much beyond some chakra."

"Those jutsu you guys were using had to have used more than just 'some'!" Temari said. "I mean, you guys were flying, wielding lighting, calling up wind storms, making solid clones that could fight…"

"Ah, relax Temari-chan!" Uindo said, making Temari pause and blush slightly at his suffix. "All of that is nothing for somebody who is a member of Akatsuki!"

"And that just goes double for our team Temari." Naruto added, having recovered from Hinote's victory hug. "Two of us have a bloodline over the elements, and I have the Kyuubi to refill my reserves whenever they deplete. We are the last people you should have to worry about when it comes to chakra."

Temari opened her mouth to reply, probably in protest, but then the waiting box doors slammed open. Sasuke walked in, his clothes having been replaced with a matching pair after the first was ruined. He crossed his arms, looking over everyone inside and blushing as he caught Hinote smiling at him, before walking over to Naruto and staring at him with a glare. Naruto did the same, before both smiled and shook hands.

"Dobe." Sasuke said.

"Teme." Naruto replied.

"So what did I miss?"

Naruto looked over at Uindo and Hinote, the former frowning and the latter winking at Sasuke, before turning to answer Sasuke. "To sum it up, Neji and Lee battled to a draw, and Uindo lost after a quick Jan-Ken."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but otherwise didn't look too surprised. "Jan-Ken…and it was your idea no doubt, dobe." He smirked and then walked past, leaning on the railing as he mostly turned to watching the arena be patched up. "So that should just leave you and Shikamaru left to fight, right?"

"Yeah…" Naruto glanced over at Shikamaru, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor with his hands in a strange position. _–Weird, maybe he's meditating? –_ "I hope he can give me a good challenge. Nara's after all are famed for being cunning strategists."

"Don't get your hopes up, Shikamaru was always sleeping in the academy and was the dead last of the class too because of his test grades."

"Hmm…"

Hayate approached the center of the arena down below, so Sasuke motioned Naruto over so he could see as well. Hayate looked up at the waiting box, toward the crowd, and then finally at the Hokage box. _–The invasion begins after this… -_ He thought. _–I wonder what would be better, a quick fight, or a long one? –_ Shaking his thoughts away from the matter, he coughed once into his hand and began to announce the final match. "Now then, will Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru Nara please report to the arena floor? Just a reminder, this match is the final and will declare the winner of the Chuunin Exams." As expected, this reminder caused many in the audience to cheer. One individual however frowned instead, before standing to leave. His cane clacked loudly and ominously as he ventured out of the arena and back to his hidden headquarters.

Naruto smiled and turned to leave, waving a farewell to Sasuke and his team. However, just before he passed out the waiting box doors, he heard Shikamaru sigh loudly. Turning, he noticed that Shikamaru was standing now but making no notion to move. What's more, he seemed to have a serious expression on his face, before it faded away into an annoyed one. He walked over to the railing, and yelled down to the proctor.

"Proctor, I forfeit!"

This announcement made the crowd erupt in anger and various boos. Some of them even began to throw various things at the waiting box and arena, but Shikamaru ignored them all as he sighed and sat down against the railing. Everyone else in the waiting box stared at him in confusion, but then Naruto smiled secretly to himself. _–Out of all of us, Shikamaru's barely done anything beyond simply being here. No doubt he's heard most of what we've said…even when we've been careful to keep it quiet. –_ Shikamaru looked down from his cloud gazing, noticed Naruto's look, and gave the blonde a small wave of acknowledgement. Naruto's smile grew a little more. _–With him knowing that I have the Kyuubi, and all the other facts he's probably gathered and stitched together, he knows it'd be suicide nearly for him to fight me. Too bad…I was gonna go easy on him… -_

Sarutobi and Gaara tensed, knowing full well what was about to occur. Shinobi within the crowd also tensed, preparing to dispel the genjutsu that was planned to fall over the arena. Hayate coughed, slipping into a small stance for drawing his sword, and raised his hand slightly to announce the Chuunin Exam's end. "Since Shikamaru Nara has forfeited the match, I declare Naruto Uzumaki the winner of this year's Chuunin Exam!"

And just like that, chaos erupted.

Explosions rocked the arena walls from out in the village, signaling the invaders to begin their assault. But even with the feathers of an illusion falling all around them, Konoha's shinobi easily dispelled it and sped out of the arena to save their village. Suna and Oto-nin charged against Konoha-nin, but with their plans all unveiled by Gaara the invaders quickly found Konoha's full strength upon them. More often then not the scream of a dying Oto-nin filled the air, or a Suna-nin would be found captured and wounded on the side of a street or rooftop. A kind fate for the Suna-nin, who by the Sandaime's reasoning were simply unwilling pawns in Orochimaru's plans, and thus granted a pardon for their actions. It didn't mean though that every captured shinobi came out unharmed, since an invasion is still that.

Back in the arena, the occupants of the waiting box stared between each other, and with a nod from Naruto, they vanished to do battle.

XXXXX

High atop the arena, Sarutobi and Gaara enacted their parts in the invasion. Their robes gone, and Sarutobi sporting his old battle attire, they stared down the Sound Four. A faint whispering echoed within Gaara's mind as he watched them, the first stirrings of Shukaku coming back to the surface with the promise of bloodshed, but with the help of a new temporary seal on him he quickly crushed it so as to not do anything…rash. Nobody moved for a time, before Tayuya finally had enough and began cursing up a storm.

"See? I told you that this shit would fail! Look at us now, facing off against the old goat Hokage and the fucking Jinchuriki of Suna!" She screamed, flailing her arms in a rough attempt to smack her teammates around.

"Just shut up Tayuya and stick to the plan!" Kidomaru snapped. "Who cares how this turned out, Orochimaru-sama ordered us to do this, and so we shall!"

"Like hell! I don't give a crap what that snake fag thinks, I'm not gonna go losing my life over some stupid fetish he has with the Uchiha brat!" With that she surprised her teammates by pulling the purple rope around her waist off and stomping it on the ground. She flipped them off, and with a quick glance toward Gaara and Sarutobi, jumped off the rooftop in an attempt to escape.

"…Well now, wasn't that interesting." Gaara said. He looked away from Tayuya's retreating form and crossed his arms. "It seems your little team is not as close as you all seemed to believe. Perhaps devotion by fear is not as strong as many of you believe, if her wise decision was any indication."

"Damn…" Sakon allowed the curse seal to slowly spread over himself, and behind him Ukon jumped out of his body as the seal spread over him as well. "It seems the bitch will have to be dealt with after this is over, right big brother?" Ukon chuckled, and when the seal completely covered both of the brothers a strange armor formed over different sides of their bodies. "I can't wait little brother. Can't you just imagine what her screams will be like?"

"Ugh, such vulgar thoughts over a lady…" Jirobo sighed as his curse seal turned his skin red and warts covered his body. "Oh well, it's not like the bitch doesn't deserve something like that after all the beatings she's given me. I hope you two will let me have some fun with her too."

"That's enough guys." Kidomaru ordered. His own transformation was underway, only with him his skin turned a reddish brown with a third eye appearing on his head, and his hair spiked out into a gray mane. "Right now we need to focus on the matter at hand, and that's these two fools."

"You should really respect your elders." Sarutobi muttered. Quickly summoning Enma and transforming him into his Adamantine Staff form, he brandished his weapon and pointed one end at the Sound Four. "To simply ignore me and Gaara-kun here while you speak of violating a woman, you are all too full of yourselves! And such an act I will not stand for, even if she is an enemy!"

"Yes…" Sand billowed behind and in front of Gaara, spiking dangerously and sometimes quickly forming various appendages. "For not only your crimes against my former home of Suna, threatening a woman with such inhuman acts, and this invasion upon Konoha, I shall destroy you all."

No more words were spoken after that, and with a distant explosion within the village, they all charged.

XXXXX

Naruto and Sasuke stood back to back, an entire squad of Oto-nin surrounding them. Thanks to their near identical style of clothes, it was hard to determine many of their ranks, but Naruto could easily guess that most of them were Chuunin with an occasional Jonin mixed in.

"So…" The Sharingan spun in Sasuke's eyes as he slowly circled with Naruto. "Who do you want Naruto?"

"Hmm…" Naruto made an act of actually judging the shinobi in front of him. "Oh it's just too hard! Sasuke-teme, why don't you choose first instead?"

"Alright then, I'll take the ugly one."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, resembling a fox slightly due to the act, before he smirked and raised his sword. "Why Sasuke, that's not fair at all! All of them are the 'ugly one'!"

Several of the Oto-nin growled at Naruto's words, and Sasuke's smirk only added to their anger. "Well then, I guess that means I won't need your help then dobe."

"Oh? You were actually going to fight teme? I thought you just wanted to play around with the corpses after I was done."

Sasuke laughed, and once Naruto joined him in mocking the Oto-nin, they all charged the two supposed genin brats. Moments later they were screaming as death befell them all.

XXXXX

Uindo and Hinote sat on the edge of a water tower, taking in the view of several Oto and Suna-nin squads rushing through the empty shopping district below. Once the squads were close enough to them, Uindo stood and helped Hinote up as well.

"Right then, I guess it's time for a good old duet, huh Hinote?" Uindo asked.

"Oh, this is so going to be fun!" Hinote giggled.

Together they raised their weapons, and in twin flashes of light they were now holding their respective instruments. Uindo raised his violin to his shoulder, and Hinote took a few test plucks of her harp. "Just remember to back off whenever the bloodlust starts acting up Hinote."

"I know brother, but you should be careful too. I doubt your body can take much more without stopping to eat soon."

"I'll be fine! I'll just stop by Ichiraku's after this and share a couple bowls with Naruto. I'm sure the owner will appreciate that at the very least."

Hinote giggled at his response, and then together they began to play. The Suna and Oto-nin never once considered bewaring the growing temperatures and wind.

XXXXX

Three towering snakes, each bearing a scarf with Orochimaru's personal symbol on them, crashed through the walls of Konoha and began tearing apart the village. Konoha-nin fought desperately to hold them back, but their massive sizes proved too much and sent even the strongest shinobi flying.

Ibiki stood on a faraway building, watching this sight with barely restrained rage. "Damn it! Squad 11 and 17, intercept the left snake and use explosive tags to hold it back! Squad 8 and 9, use some Suiton to put out those fires over there!" An explosion, courtesy of the center snake slamming into a restaurants propane tank, shook the building under him. "Where is Squad 3 dammit?!"

Shinobi rushed to fulfill his orders, but any attempts against the snakes proved useless just like all the others. Ibiki clenched his fists. _–We knew of the summoning circles, and yet the Sandaime didn't do anything about them. Why the hell not? –_

His answer, and solution to this problem, came from above. With a cry, two towering toads squashed a single snake and unsheathed their dual katana's. Jiraiya appeared atop one, standing in a weird dance as he began taunting the snakes and declaring his 'awesomeness' to the world. Despite the fact that he and his toads were doing a splendid job in killing the snakes, Ibiki couldn't help but sweatdrop at the sight.

_-Ah, that's right. Jiraiya wanted to show off to the ladies, something about how a summons battle is the only way to impress them. –_ A chuckled escaped his lips as he recalled something else. _–I suppose that book I saw passing between them helped a little too… -_

XXXXX

She was running, ducking into the shadows whenever something moved ahead or above her. Tayuya never once considered fighting, her only plan at the moment being to escape and leave behind Orochimaru, once and for all. She still didn't like her sudden rash decision, but just thinking about what might've happened if she'd stayed made the current situation look a hell of a lot better in her mind.

_-Dammit, but what the hell am I going to do? –_ She thought. Another trio of shadows appeared above her, and only with a quick dive into an alley did she thankfully avoid detection. Once they were gone, she waited another minute before moving out again. _–I don't have a home, no way am I going to go near the Land of Rice anytime soon, and Konoha's not likely to appreciate me even with my defection. –_

Again something approached her, only this time it was from ground level. She quickly moved to the rooftops, tensing when Oto headbands and attire became apparent on those approaching. But just as they closed in on her area, they were all brutally cut down by a gust of wind and several well placed kunai. From where the attacks emerged appeared Temari and Kankuro, each looking worn out but still prepped for war.

"How's your chakra holding out Kankuro?" Temari asked.

"It's fine. As long as I don't use any big puppets I can keep going for a while." Kankuro replied. Nearby, a small puppet roughly half Kankuro's size clattered in midair. It mostly resembled a brown haired, black eyed kid in shape, but under its tattered black robe were four arms, each sporting a strange kunai launcher above its wrists.

"That's good. I'd hate to have to carry your lazy ass around while killing off these Oto scum."

Kankuro merely chuckled in reply, and then with a quick flick of his wrist he shot a knock-out gas bomb toward where Tayuya hid. It detonated, and before Tayuya could hold her breath she inhaled. Moments later she collapsed to the ground unconscious. The two siblings stared at her for a moment, before Temari huffed and went to pick Tayuya up. "Remind me again why Gaara told us to help this bitch?"

"You know full well what his Suna Bunshin said. She holds some hatred toward Orochimaru and Oto, clearly indicated when she just up and ran off from fighting against Gaara and the Hokage. She's more than likely gonna be a good source of information and maybe a loyal shinobi for our side in the near future."

Temari groaned a little as she lifted Tayuya. "She's certainly not very helpful right now. Damn, there's no way she should be this heavy!"

XXXXX

Several hours after the invasion began the last telltale signs of it were finally disappearing.

Oto and Suna were in full retreat, the scarce few survivors of Oto having their tails tucked between their legs. Suna was in a slightly better position, but only so because they were fully aware that any missing shinobi from their ranks were more than likely prisoners of war within Konoha. It wasn't much, but at least it meant a possible return of them one day.

Sarutobi and Gaara had dealt with the Sound Four, or rather the Sound Three, with ease. They had grossly underestimated the Hokage due to his age, and since Shukaku was supposed to be driving Gaara nuts all the time they had thought that a few well placed genjutsu's would leave him raving like a lunatic in a corner, or better yet trying to kill the Sandaime himself. Naruto's quick thinking before the battle and a little help from Jiraiya however had countered any of these plans, having placed a brilliant seal atop Gaara's that simply restrained Shukaku's influence but not ruin Gaara's chakra control. The battle was a massacre that would've made the Shukaku proud.

Sasuke and Naruto had turned their section of the fighting into a form of competition. Since they had not battled within the exams, they had turned to simply seeing who could kill the most shinobi before the full retreat was called. Sasuke won this by one kill, having used an exploding tag mere moments before the call rang out. Needles to say Naruto was seen pouting afterwards while Sasuke merely smirked.

Uindo and Hinote were still playing, but nobody could be seen anywhere near them to actually listen in on their beautiful music. The blood and ash lining the streets and walls of their section probably had something to do with that…

Now with Konoha far behind them and celebrating their victory, Orochimaru was on a rampage within his mind. Kabuto followed close behind him, being the only shinobi among their ragtag group that could actually withstand most of the Snake Sannin's attacks that he might deliver in rage. Trees flew past them at incredible speeds, but Orochimaru still paid them no heed as he thought over how his plans had failed.

"Orochimaru-sama…" Kabuto began. "What is your plan now that our…your invasion has failed."

"…" Orochimaru stared at Kabuto from the corner of his eye, killer intent flowing out from it like a raging river. To the medic-nin's credit, he did not flinch once under the serpentine gaze. Orochimaru turned to look forward again, increasing his pace slightly. "The invasion is a…unfortunate setback, much more so since I was unable to approach Sasuke-kun during it thanks to the ANBU fighting near him. But still, I shall simply formulate a new plan once we reach Otogakure, and then Sasuke-kun's body will be mine!"

"What about Kazegakure?"

Orochimaru this time hissed, and his sleeves bulged with something crawling within them. "You will send our best spies out and gather all that you can about them. I will know who and what they really are, and should they prove too much of a threat…"

Before he could finish his threat, a scream came from one of the Oto-nin around the two traitors as he fell to the forest floor, dead with various kunai and shuriken littering his body. The two traitors and the group around them stopped, but it proved fatal as the air grew cold and a giant tiger of ice jumped out from nearby. With a roar it ate and killed several shinobi, and when it left a thick mist filled the area. The only warning everyone had before their deaths was the sound of metal slicing through air, and then their heads fell off their bodies. Orochimaru glared at the giant sword now stuck in the side of a nearby tree, and Kabuto raised a kunai defensively as various shadows appeared within the mist.

Three of the shadows, one having retrieved the massive sword and slung it over their back, approached Orochimaru. The middle shadow stepped closer still, and with a parting of the mist Itachi was revealed to Orochimaru.

"Itachi!" Orochimaru hissed. "What are you doing here? What is the meaning of this?!"

"Just a little pest control Orochimaru." Itachi replied, his tone even and near monotone. "I'm actually quite surprised to see you here…I had expected that Naruto-kun would have done away with you during the invasion."

"That brat has nothing against me. One quick fight is all I'd need to do away with him."

One of the shadows behind Itachi shifted, but a quick glance from the Uchiha made it stop. He turned back to Orochimaru, Sharingan now spinning within each eye. "Listen well Orochimaru, for I'd hate to repeat myself. Leave my brother alone, and keep your hatred of Konoha to yourself. I do not take kindly of people messing with that which I and Naruto-kun consider precious…" His Sharingan rotated once, before forming a strange shuriken design within each eye. "Otherwise, you'll lose more than just your arms next time."

Orochimaru frowned, confused by Itachi's words. "What…" Blood ran from Itachi's right eye, and then all Orochimaru felt was pain. He screamed, desperately wishing he could grasp his arms where the pain flared. But there was nothing to grasp himself with, as his arms were now indeed missing, and only the faintest flickering of black flames on the ground and where his arms had been being the only indication as to how. Kabuto moved to try and relieve the pain of his master, but flames flared within the air between them to hold him back.

The mist faded away and so did the shadows within it. When it finally cleared completely, Itachi was also gone without even a whisper. Orochimaru screamed again, arching his head to the heavens above. "CURSE YOU ITACHI!!"

Nearly a mile away, a small smile grew on Itachi's face as the scream echoed behind him. Haku had no control as she giggled out loud at the Snake's misfortune. "Simply amazing Itachi-san, I never knew Amaterasu could be so powerful!"

"Those flames are hotter than the sun itself, and will burn for seven days without end." Zabuza handed him a small hand towel to wipe the blood away from his eye. "Such is one of the fearsome powers of the Mangekyo Sharingan." With his vision now bloodless, he turned his attention to the shinobi moving through the trees around him. "Everyone except Zabuza and you Haku are free to go. Such a force is no longer necessary with the invasion over with." The various Kaze shinobi all gave a silent nod before breaking off and returning to their landing sight. Itachi, Zabuza, and Haku all traveled in silence for a time, before Haku let out a happy sigh.

"I can't wait to see Naruto-kun again…" She muttered. Zabuza laughed at her dreamy expression, while Itachi simply smiled again.

XXXXX

Several days had now passed since the invasion had ended. As the sounds of repair work echoed outside his office, Sarutobi puffed at his pipe as he looked at the gathered people in front of him. Naruto, Uindo and Hinote were all present, their Akatsuki cloaks on now that the chance of fighting was over with. Gaara was also present, an intricate new seal circling the kanji upon his head to hold back Shukaku's influence. They were all here to discuss matters concerning both of their village's, and in Gaara's case he was simply acting as a spectator with his allegiance now officially divided, but still the final person needed had yet to arrive. As if on cue the window beside Sarutobi opened, and with a wave Jiraiya leapt in and stood beside the Hokage.

"Good, now we can begin." Sarutobi muttered. He tapped his pipe on a nearby ashtray and set it down. "To begin, I want to officially extend my villages thanks to Kazegakure, who without their help we might have suffered a great deal more in this invasion. And if it were in my hands I would instantly promote all of you to Chuunin."

Naruto and Uindo gave each other a high-five, while Hinote simply smiled behind her collar. "However, since you are not of my village that decision is left to your leaders." Sarutobi smirked and leaned back in his chair slightly. "How ironic it seems that you three happen to be some of them." This earned a round of laughter from everyone present, with Gaara simply smiling slightly.

"What about Suna Hokage-sama?" Hinote asked.

"Since they were clearly manipulated by Orochimaru, and the fact that their leader is now dead because of that man, they will receive no countermeasures from my village. I feel it is the least we can do for them in this troubling time." Gaara nodded in appreciation to the Hokage. Although he would soon leave it, Suna was still the home of his siblings, and as such it wouldn't do for it to be destroyed or attacked.

"With the invasion now over with, your information network should be mostly back in business now, right Jiraiya?" Uindo asked. Jiraiya nodded. "Yes, in fact I was lucky enough to meet up with some of my contacts before they left the village, and they had some good news. Apparently Tsunade has been hitting most of the major gambling towns along the western border of the Land of Fire. As such, and if she doesn't suddenly move, I can probably find her within the month and return her here to help take care of your seal Gaara."

"That is not all Jiraiya." Sarutobi reached into his desk, and a few moments later he handed a letter to Jiraiya. Noticing the Hokage's personal seal on the front, he raised an eyebrow at his old sensei. "I'm afraid I'm getting too old for all of this Jiraiya. This invasion has only solidified my belief, and as such I'm in need of successor." Sarutobi sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You however are not exactly prime Hokage material, and your information network is more important to have than you stamping papers inside an office. This only leaves Tsunade then, but…"

Jiraiya nodded, securing the letter safely inside his clothes. "I understand sensei. Don't worry, I'll make sure she comes back with me, and as your successor too!"

"Old man, Ero-Sennin…" The two mentioned men turned to Naruto, who stepped forward slightly. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to go along in this mission."

"Now why would request that Naruto?" Sarutobi asked.

"If this mission is about choosing the next Hokage as well as finding help for Gaara, I think I should go along. That way I can talk to her about the alliance and hopefully deal with all the issues before we get back into the village."

"I also wish come." Everyone turned to Gaara, and after a few minutes of waiting for an explanation, they sweatdropped as they realized that he was not going to give one. Sarutobi pondered over the idea, before simply shrugging. "That is fine with me, and I really have no hold over you two going since you are not of my village."

Jiraiya sighed. "Alright then, if you two want to come along, then I suggest you guys go and get prepared. I intend to leave in one hour, so meet me at the gate at that time." The two gave a nod to Jiraiya, and after all of them said their farewells they vanished in various Shunshin to prepare for their departure. Sarutobi then focused his attention on Hinote and Uindo. "Now then, let's continue shall we?"

XXXXX

Tayuya slowly awoke cold and sore in an unknown room. Water dripped on her cheek, snapping her free of her sleepy daze, and with a start she sat up on the bed she apparently was on. She flailed, trying to raise her arms and hopefully escape, but the drain of shinobi resistant cuffs, and the rattling of the chains attached to them, made her realize how futile it was. After another minute of futile struggling, marked with the occasional curse, she finally listened to her minds advice and turned to take in her surroundings instead.

She was in a small stone room, a single light bulb above her head being the only illumination within it. The bed she was sitting on jutted out of the wall and was held in place with two strong chains. Across from her was a small sink and shatterproof mirror, and beside that was a toilet separated by a small wall divider for privacy. To finish the prison design of it all, the door to her right was made of steel and there was only a small opening to allow food in without actually entering the room.

Tayuya sighed, and with an unladylike snort she collapsed back onto the bed. She now easily recalled the bomb detonating in her face, and the brief wisps of conversation she had made out between the Suna-nin before falling unconscious. Apparently that Gaara kid knew how useful she could be in gathering information, and frankly she had no problems with sharing her information. If it meant screwing over any plans of Orochimaru, who she only really respected out of fear, she'd gladly provide all she could. The only hitch was that she had no clue as to what they would do with her afterwards. Konoha was an unknown to her in how they treated prisoners, and Otogakure's methods made her shudder in fear, especially since she was a kunoichi.

Muttering a couple curses, she turned onto her side and tried to find a comfortable position. _–Sure hope these hippies are as peaceful as they make themselves seem to the world… -_

XXXXX

With Gaara walking beside him, Naruto walked to the gate and hopefully an interesting mission. They turned a corner, the gates now in full view, and Jiraiya could be easily made out resting against the left side of it. He had a notebook in hand, scribbling furiously with a new idea of some kind, but when he finally noticed the two approaching he put it away and nodded toward them.

"So are you both prepared?" he asked. Naruto and Gaara both nodded. "Good, then let's get going. With luck we'll meet up with her in under a week or two and make it back here by the end of the month." He turned and walked off, and behind him Naruto and Gaara moved to follow. Above them all, Sasuke again watched his rival leave the village, and just like before he left once they were out of sight.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note: **This is a revised edition of Chapter 9. I hope you enjoyed it! (Any previous Author Notes of revised chapters no longer exist)


	10. Chapter 10

"Normal Speech"

_-Thoughts-_

**"Demon Speech"**

**"Jutsu!"**

XXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 10: The Slug Sannin and Uchiha Reunion

Over a day had passed since Jiraiya, Naruto, and Gaara had all set out to find Tsunade. Back in Konoha things were pretty much the same, the occasional rebuilding site busy with workers or otherwise normal life going about its business like nothing had happened mere days ago. In one district, Kakashi leaned casually against the side of a small restaurant, flipping pages in his book as he awaited Sasuke's arrival. The Uchiha had approached him yesterday with questions regarding the Sharingan, and so Kakashi set up a little personal training for today in hopes of answering his questions. So far Kakashi was amazingly early for once and it was Sasuke running late.

Behind the copy-nin, three figures casually sipped tea and munched on various snacks inside the small restaurant. They held no real distinct features, seemingly normal in regards to the more radical people that filled the village. All in all they were plain and average, something that no doubt made many shinobi appreciate the Henge like these three did now.

A smack echoed from down the street, and as Kakashi looked up to see the cause he caught Kurenai turning the corner with an angry expression on her face. Moments later Asuma could be seen turning the same corner as well, but unlike Kurenai he left in the other direction with his left cheek aflame and head hung low. A chuckled escaped Kakashi's mask and he turned a page in his book. "Hello there Kurenai-chan, is something bothering you today?"

Kurenai paused in her dark thoughts, turning to look at Kakashi. She glared at him when she noticed the perverted book in his hand, but all Kakashi did in response was giggle perversely, further irritating the Genjutsu mistress.

"Beside perverts you mean?" Kakashi ignored the jab at his hobby and self. "Asuma has been acting like an ass recently, so I've broken up with him…again."

"Oh my, that has to be…the third time this year. He certainly doesn't seem to grasp the whole love thing does he?"

Kurenai snorted. "Smack him over the head with it and yet he'll still ignore it! Probably smoke at the same time too…" Anything else after that was barely audible mutterings.

"Care to talk about it some more, maybe over a little lunch perhaps?"

"In your dreams Hatake, you know what my answer is." Kurenai suddenly began to look around, a curious expression on her face. "Why are you just standing here anyway? I'd expect you to be at the memorial stone or somewhere else reclusive right now with that book."

"Maa…I'm waiting for Sasuke to arrive actually." Kakashi paused as he felt one of the figures behind him twitch slightly, only the barest of movements from his ring wearing finger. "He came to me yesterday with a couple questions he wanted me to answer. I was busy, so I instead made time for some personal training today." Another page turned in his book, and Kakashi almost smiled when he felt the same figure from before shift, probably to listen in better. "Did you know something weird apparently happened in his match, back in the Chuunin Exam?"

"I think even a blind man could've seen that. First he pulls off a skilled combination to end the match quickly, the next second the girl he's fighting starts acting crazy while manipulating fire like it was nothing…" All three of the figures flinched at Kurenai's words, and one of them even rubbed his chest slightly. "…Then he uses Chidori, upgrades it to your Raikiri, and then makes his own jutsu out of that with some weird black flames swirling around it all."

At Kurenai's final words, the first stranger inhaled sharply before he could conceal it, making Kurenai finally take note of the three within the shop. She tensed, but Kakashi showed no intent of preparing himself. He simply nodded. "Yes, but funnily enough that's not it entirely. He didn't realize it at the time, but his Sharingan was actually quite painful to use during the match. When he woke up afterwards, his right eye was terribly bloodshot, and now his Sharingan causes this uncomfortable pain just behind the eyes." A page was turned in his book again. "Since I'm the only user of the Sharingan still in the village besides him, he's hoping I might have some answers for him." Not even Kurenai noticed his sideway glance to one of the figures, who actually nodded in response.

"Do you Kakashi?" Kurenai asked. Before Kakashi could reply, if he was ever going to, Sasuke appeared around the corner.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, sorry I'm late." Sasuke said. An amused smirk appeared on his face as he realized the irony. "It seems I got lost on the road of life."

Chuckling, Kakashi closed his book and faced Sasuke, taking note of the now empty table within the restaurant. The tea cups were still steaming slightly with the hot tea inside them, and money was set on the table as payment and tip. He nodded at Kurenai, who did so as well before vanishing in a plume of smoke. Sasuke stared curiously at the exchange, but then decided to not ask about it. "So sensei, are you ready?"

"I'm sorry Sasuke, but it seems something has come up. I'm afraid we'll have to reschedule this little training session." Kakashi eye smiled as he prepared to leave. "Perhaps you should just take some time and enjoy that cute girl who's been following you around? What was her name…Hinote?" Before Sasuke could reply, or possibly attack his sensei, Kakashi vanished in a cloud of smoke.

Sasuke growled and a faint twitch in his eye formed at the thought of Hinote. He did indeed have an interest in the girl, and a rather painful encounter with her had him even admitting his love for her too, but she was still…Sasuke couldn't even find a proper word to describe her really. She was a little crazy and loved to fight, and her brother had no qualms in confirming it, but ever since their match she became even more so when he was in sight and a third item seemed to become added to her weird traits, lust. The painful encounter with her in fact had come close to leaving him naked and strapped to a bed, and while the fantasy disturbingly aroused him, he had no plans in letting her achieve such a thing…for now.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke paled as Hinote's voice echoed down the street. When she tackled him from behind, his clone dispersed in a cloud of smoke. She pouted, upset at losing track of him again, but then her expression brightened as she noticed the Uchiha slowly creeping away via the rooftops. "Don't think you're getting away that easily Sasuke-kun!" And so the great Uchiha hunt was on.

XXXXX

On a deserted river side street, lined with trees on the opposite side, Kurenai appeared behind three individuals. Their Henge's were long gone, revealing that two of them were wearing the mysterious red cloud cloaks of Kazegakure's Akatsuki and the other had a large zanbato blocking her view of its wielder. They had paused in their walk when she had landed, but none of them moved to turn around and reveal their faces to her. What's more, one of them even wore a large straw hat with several paper tassels around the rim of it, further blocking his face from view while irritating Kurenai and putting her more on edge than before.

"May I ask why three Kaze shinobi are doing in Konoha without permission, and sneaking around like criminals?" Kurenai asked. She carefully touched her kunai pouch just for reassurance.

One of the figures, the only apparent female among them and wearing an Akatsuki cloak, turned to face Kurenai. Her black hair was tied back into a small bun atop her head with two senbon needles holding it in place, and two bangs gently framed her face on either side. Her slightly pale skin and warm brown eyes made her seem almost regal, and the image was only enhanced when the girl smiled. "Gomen kunoichi-san, but we do not mean harm. We are simply here to meet with some of our comrades."

"Really?" Kurenai narrowed her eyes and took a careful step forward. "Then you wouldn't mind coming with me then to the Hokage's Tower, right?"

"Actually, I believe we might." The hat wearing Akatsuki, his voice informing Kurenai that he was male, turned slightly as if glancing over his shoulder at her. "You see, I have some business I wish to take care of right now. Becoming sidetracked with your request would be…annoying."

"I'm afraid you misread my words. It wasn't a request."

"Ah, please…" The girl raised her hands defensively and tried to calm the situation. "There really is no need for violence. I'm sure…"

"That's enough Haku." The swordsman barked. Haku looked over at the man, but then bowed slightly before simply stepping back behind the two men. Kurenai tensed, preparing to fight like the situation seemed to call for, but she froze once the swordsman turned, revealing his identity to her. He wore nothing over his chest, revealing a well built chest and powerful arms, which were covered by camouflage arm warmers. The only other pieces of clothing he wore besides the warmers was grey pants and black shinobi sandals, the pants tied off around the shins by simple white bandages. The lower half of his face and some of his shoulders was covered by bandages, and his headband was slightly crooked and to the side. But despite the Kaze headband he wore, marked with the three wavy lines of the village, Kurenai knew him well, and from another village too.

"Zabuza Momochi!" Not waiting another moment, Kurenai raised a kunai and performed several one handed signs behind her back. She reached the final hand sign, but before she could execute her genjutsu, the still mysterious Akatsuki member vanished and appeared behind her, trapping her hand and pressing it painfully against her back. _–So fast! –_ She thought.

"There is no need for violence…" The stranger whispered. Kurenai barely withheld a shudder as his breath brushed against her shoulder and neck.

"Then may I ask why you are grabbing Kurenai like that?"

Kurenai breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed Kakashi, leaning casually against a nearby tree with his arms crossed. His headband was up and revealing his single Sharingan, but it did not spin like it normally would be in combat. The stranger still holding Kurenai seemed to stare at Kakashi, before the tension was broken by him releasing Kurenai's arm and casually walking back to his comrades. Kakashi also moved to besides Kurenai and pulled out a kunai, not raising it yet in case it would not be needed.

"It has been a long time, Kakashi…" The stranger slowly removed his hat and unbuttoned the top of his cloak slightly. When the hat vanished in a cloud of smoke, Itachi Uchiha stared back at Kakashi and Kurenai with a small smirk on his face. "I take it life has been good for you?"

Kakashi nodded. "It has." He raised his kunai and pointed it at Itachi. "But I wonder, should I say 'It's nice to see you', or maybe 'Surrender or die'? Care to help me choose?"

"Easy there Hatake, we mean no harm." Zabuza said. "We're just here to check up on the brat and deal with the alliance treaty."

"Has Naruto-kun succeeded in obtaining an alliance?" Haku added.

"I'm afraid I cannot say. Naruto left yesterday on a mission to retrieve the next Hokage, and while his two teammates have been seen talking with the Sandaime often they have never revealed anything about their talks."

Itachi nodded at Kakashi's words, and with a quick flick of a wrist he pulled out a stick of pocky. Chewing on it, he silently laughed to himself at the face Kurenai had made when he had pulled out his snack instead of the weapon she had no doubt assumed he would. "So things are going well after all, I was afraid the invasion would have hindered things more…" He paused, looking up at the sky. "This means…Zabuza!" Zabuza bowed, and then turned around before vanishing in a swirl of water.

"Wait a minute!" Kurenai yelled. "What's going on? Where is he going?"

"Relax Kurenai-san." Haku said. "Zabuza-san is merely calling on the remainder of Akatsuki. Should the alliance be agreed on by the Hokage, then we will all need to be here to sign the treaty."

"W-What, there's more of you?!"

"Maa…I thought it would be obvious Kurenai!" Kakashi eye smiled and lowered his headband back over his eye. "You see, everyone who wears those red cloud cloaks is a member of Akatsuki. And being a member of Akatsuki makes you the leader of Kazegakure. But what kind of leader would they be if they were to just leave their village ungoverned while they rushed over here just to make sure someone is safe?"

"B-But…why are two criminals the leaders of a village?"

"Why is Orochimaru the leader of Otogakure?" asked Itachi. When Kurenai didn't respond, Itachi smiled in victory. "You see? What normally would seem odd is in fact very common these days. And our village is not run by criminals my dear, simply men and women who were unfortunate enough to deal with…complications inside their old villages."

"Plus Naruto, Uindo, and Hinote are certainly not criminals Kurenai." Kakashi said. "Have you ever seen them inside a bingo book?"

Kurenai slowly shook her head, uncertain still over everything that was happening. "Okay…but then why were three leaders of a village inside the Chuunin Exam? Certainly they should be at least jonin for such a position and the power I saw them wield."

"That was all just some simple politics my dear Kurenai." Itachi paused in his explanation, frowning at something. He pulled out the now toothpick sized pocky stick and flicked it away, and then bit down on a new one. "Well rather it was politics and dealing with a mission or two I had assigned to them, but we'll just stick to the politics. Tell me Kurenai…what exactly does a village need to do in order to solidify their status?"

"Umm…Any village wishing for Hidden Village status usually has to do three things. The first is actually having a village and a steady population and economy. The second is the creation of a Ninja Academy, which follows up with successfully graduating students and making them Genin. The third is…" Kurenai frowned, uncertain of the last bit. "I'm sorry, I'm afraid it's been a little too long since the Academy."

Haku smiled and stepped up. "Then allow me Kurenai-san. The third requirement is actually nominating at least one team of Genin to send to a Chuunin Exam held within any of the proper Hidden Village's. Regardless of the team's outcome, just by sending them the village in question is given an official title of Hidden Village by their local Daimyo and any Hidden Village that wishes to second the motion as well. From there the village can choose to either promote their own personal exams, or continue sending their shinobi out to other villages on a six month basis." Haku's smile widened. "I expect that our Daimyo's already informed our comrades back in Kazegakure of our now official status."

"So Kazegakure sent some of their leaders, just to gain the title of Hidden Village, and promote their people as they chose to?" Kurenai asked.

Itachi nodded. "Yes, is it so hard to believe?"

Kurenai sighed, feeling a little more comfortable over the situation finally. "It's not hard to believe, at least not with your village apparently. But…you wish to form an alliance with Konoha? I don't think the council will take kindly to forming an alliance with a village full of ex-missing-nin, especially one that has one of their most infamous ones too."

Kakashi eye smiled. "She does have a point Itachi. What are you going to do about that?"

Itachi didn't respond at first. He turned away, looking over at the river and then the sky. When he started to actually walk away, he replied over his shoulder. "I shall do nothing. If Konoha is foolish enough to refuse, then it is their foolishness and I will have none of it in our village." He vanished in a shimmering haze moments later.

XXXXX

Satisfied with the scroll, Uindo took it and bowed to the Hokage. He sealed it away within the storage seal on his shirt, and after closing the office door behind him he sighed wearily. _–Politics are definitely not my strong suit. I hope Itachi can deal with all of this better whenever we call him here for the signing… -_ Shaking away his thoughts, Uindo continued on down the hallway and out of the Tower. He reached the main floor and lobby, but before he could even cross the room a sound caught his attention. Eyes widening in realization, he barely ducked before Sasuke jumped over him from behind, cursing up a storm and offering a small apology as he passed. Uindo stood up again, but then moved to the left so Hinote would not barrel into him. She paused in chasing Sasuke, waving at her brother and taking a quick breather, before resuming again.

Uindo sighed again. "Why did she have to be a Fire affinity? She could've been Water, Earth, Wind, hell even Lighting! But nooo…"

"Cursing your bloodline and sister again eh?"

Surprised, Uindo looked across the lobby and focused on the intimidating form of Zabuza. "Hey! What are you doing here?" Uindo asked. Zabuza grinned under his bandages and walked up to Uindo, patting the blonde on the back roughly. "It's good to see you too brat. Tell me, who's the unlucky bastard to catch Hinote's heart?"

"Sasuke Uchiha."

Zabuza blinked, and then once he registered the name he broke out into laughter. "Hahaha! You mean to tell me Hinote has her eye on Itachi's little brother? Hahahahahah!"

Uindo laughed as well, but then he realized that the ANBU guards were watching Zabuza carefully, some revealing kunai and shuriken even. Not wanting to have them attack the man, Uindo waved them off and guided him up the stairs and toward the Hokage's office. "So really Zabuza, what's going on? I thought Itachi-sensei was supposed to wait for us to call him before sending anyone here."

"New information about what Orochimaru was doing came to us while you were gone. After hearing it, Itachi summoned two squads and brought me and Haku along to help take care of things here in case things got nasty." Zabuza shrugged. "You guys took care of things though so all we had to do really was take care of the scraps. Killed all the Oto-nin you didn't and left Orochimaru with a nasty parting gift."

"Ah…so that means Haku and Itachi are here too huh? Where are they?"

"Hmm…I imagine Haku's not far behind me. She'll probably be here in another minute or so. And Itachi…" Zabuza shrugged. "He apparently has something he has to take care of with Sasuke. Uchiha business he said."

"Does Sasuke know?"

Now standing outside the Hokage's office, Zabuza stopped and titled his head. After a moment, he raised three fingers and began to count down. "3…2…1…"

"WHAT?!"

Sasuke's voice probably could have been heard on the other side of the village. Uindo grinned, knowing Haku had no doubt met with Sasuke and told him about Itachi. "Wanna bet on how he's gonna greet Itachi-sensei?"

"Nah, I'm still wary on doing any kind of betting after the last time I bet against Naruto. Still think he's gonna smack Itachi around a little though."

"A little?" The two shared another laugh before Uindo waved goodbye and Zabuza walked inside the Hokage's office.

XXXXX

In a deserted section of Konoha, Sasuke landed quietly outside the giant gates of the Uchiha district. He stared it, both doors adorned with the Uchiha crest, but also smeared with the old stains of blood from that night long ago. After a minute of recalling old memories he finally opened one and walked inside the district. He was met with silence, the air seemingly still as if frozen in time. The district was fairly clean, the ANBU and Sasuke having taken the time to remove some of the battle marks and blood, but each and every house was closed shut with wood over the windows and doors. It was almost like a ghost town, and that's when Sasuke realized that it really was in a sense.

_-Itachi and I are the only Uchiha left in existence now. Having an entire district to ourselves, we might as well not exist… -_ Sasuke grimly thought. Thinking of Itachi however reminded him of why he came, and so he moved on.

His old house, the Uchiha clan head's mansion, was situated on the far end of the district. Although it was mostly meant for security, Sasuke now found it annoying as it took him five minutes to reach it, all the while recalling pleasant but unwelcome memories of the places he passed by. He opened the door, pausing as he noticed the footsteps within the dust on the floor, and then closed it behind him as he removed his sandals. He placed them besides another pair, and after recalling a few memories of his mom welcoming him home, he pushed further into the house.

_-I'm definitely getting too emotional over all of this… -_

The footsteps went upstairs toward the old bedrooms, and when they passed through a door Sasuke wasn't too surprised to see that the door was in fact Itachi's old bedroom. When he opened it, he was greeted with the sight of Itachi sitting on the edge of his bed, an old photograph of their family in his hand. Neither of them said anything for a while, each just taking in the others appearance and activating their Sharingan.

Itachi stood and placed the picture down, and then he smiled at Sasuke. "I'm home Sasuke."

Sasuke smiled and stepped closer. "Welcome back Itachi."

Five seconds later Itachi was staring at the ceiling, his face in pain and no doubt a little red. Sasuke stood over him, fist throbbing for punching Itachi so hard, but a satisfied smirk on his face all the same. "That's one down, and over a million to go. Man did that feel good!"

Itachi laughed, sitting up and de-activating his Sharingan. "I could've dodged that you know."

"So? You know you deserved it."

Again Itachi laughed, and accepting Sasuke's hand up he stood. "True, but don't think the other 'million' will be that easy."

"I never expected that."

Moments later the two were in the kitchen of their old house, a hot cup of tea sitting in front of them both. Sasuke lowered the tea kettle and blew a little of the smoke from his cup. "What the hell have you been doing these past few years Itachi?"

Itachi calmly took a sip of his own tea before replying. "Same question, Sasuke."

Sasuke sighed. "Fine, I'll go first." He paused and gathered his thoughts. "After the massacre, the Hokage gave me a decent apartment to live in and even respected my wishes to not be adopted. I was still pretty disturbed for a while, even after things were explained completely, but I guess I chilled out finally in the Academy and actually have a couple friends, my teammates included."

"And the fan girls?"

Sasuke shuddered. "Just as bad as you said Itachi. Probably worse even since I was the only Uchiha left in the village. I was approached with so many marriage proposals…and some came from older women even!"

Itachi smirked as he took another sip of his tea and refilled it. "Well such is the life of an Uchiha I suppose. Now how has your training gone so far?"

"I've trained so hard…sometimes I've awoken in the training ground after draining myself the night before. And that was before I got a team! Afterwards…well Kakashi-sensei basically forced me to calm down and focus more on improving teamwork than my own skills." Sasuke paused, a haunted look on his face as an old mission came to mind. "I've never been more thankful he made me do that."

"What's wrong little brother?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow, but then he decided to change the subject instead of push it. "What about the Sharingan? I noticed you had a fully mature one already at your age." _–Not to mention that disturbing event Kakashi-san talked about… -_

"Ah…well I got it about two years ago. Nothing special really, it was just there one day after one of those passing out training sessions. I was so surprised when I got home…" Sasuke trailed off into a laugh. "Anyway it was one tomoe in each eye back then, and it became two when I passed the Academy. A mission I took on a couple months later forced me to achieve the third one." Sasuke activated his Sharingan and looked at Itachi. "Because of these, sensei has even said that I have more chakra than he does, due to having them activated so much during training and missions and using all the high level jutsu I've learned. Plus my speed and stamina is pretty impressive too, about a jonin's standard. All in all I'm at his level apparently as of the end of the Chuunin Exam."

Itachi activated his own Sharingan and narrowed his eyes. "How do you use your Sharingan? Do you simply copy, or do you learn?"

Sasuke sighed and shook his head. "I never copy Itachi. I learn and earn all that I obtain, just like a true Uchiha should." He sipped at his tea, and then Itachi refilled it for him. "That's what you did too Itachi, I remember. Father and everyone else were always teaching you what they themselves had copied, but after they were done you would go to your old spot and practice, letting the jutsu you learned become second nature to you." A silence filled the air between them as they both sipped at their tea. Both had deactivated their Sharingan, but still they stared at each other intently. Sasuke broke the silence moments later. "That's why, isn't it? How you were able to kill everyone by yourself? Not some stupid special training from the clan, but from pushing yourself to master everything you knew and had. You didn't let the Sharingan be all there was to you, you used it like the tool it's supposed to be to obtain and then learn new things."

Itachi smiled, and as he set down his empty tea cup he stood. "Very good Sasuke, I have no doubt that you will be a strong shinobi one day, surpassing me too even."

Sasuke smiled sheepishly despite himself. "Do…do you really think so?"

Itachi said nothing at first, only motioning for Sasuke to follow. Sasuke did, and after walking for a time they sat down on the walkway that bordered the private training ground of their house. "I know you will Sasuke. Do you know why? You do not have the same accursed eyes as I do." The Mangekyo formed in Itachi's eyes, and Sasuke stared at them in awe. "These eyes may be the highest form of the Sharingan, but the cost of them is too high for anyone to pay."

"Pay?" Sasuke frowned. "What do you have to pay beyond the life of a friend? It doesn't make sense."

"So you know of the activation cost? Hmm…" Itachi closed his eyes, and silence filled the air again. "The Mangekyo Sharingan…to obtain, you supposedly must slay your best friend and experience the pain of this act and the severing of the bond between you both. But…what the scrolls I believe you read did not say was that, with every use of these eyes, your world slowly grows darker."

"What! You're going blind?!"

"Yes…but thankfully my vision can return to normal whenever I activate my Sharingan, so it is not as bad as many would believe."

"But…isn't there anything you can do to stop it?"

"…" Itachi glanced at his brother, eyes cold as steel. Sasuke quickly dropped the subject and didn't bring it back up. Itachi sighed, and then he leaned back a little to take in the cloudy sky. "So tell me Sasuke, what do you think of my letter?"

Instead of replying Sasuke actually brought out the very letter he spoke of. He had been keeping it close, sometimes pulling it out to re-read it whenever he thought over the matter. Just like all those times before, Sasuke read over it again right now in front of Itachi.

Sasuke,

If you are reading this, then Naruto has successfully arrived in Konoha. But please do not seek him or his partner out immediately, for I have some things I wish to tell you.

I am currently one of the leaders of Kazegakure, a new hidden village I myself helped create and find. We have had some troubling times, but so far rebuilding has gone along smoothly. And the story behind all of this, it is simply amazing, I myself would never believe it if I hadn't done most of it. Our village is run by Akatsuki, once an organization of criminals but now one of leadership. Naruto-kun is a part of it too, so if you see him wearing a red cloud cloak and special ring then know that is what all Akatsuki members wear. It's amazing what four years could lead to, isn't it?

Speaking of our departure from Konoha, how have you been all these years? I know we didn't part ways on the…best of terms, and I use that word lightly. Still I hope you have taken my words to heart and have led a good life so far. If not…then I still hope happiness is in there somewhere. You must be stronger. I doubt you would spend all this time simply lying around while I traveled with Naruto-kun. He has also trained very hard by the way, so much that I suspect his average level of skill is around jonin standards now. But with so many…unique people around him to judge him by it is admittedly hard to say.

Ah it seems I am rambling a little, so I will simply get to final matter of my letter. I want to offer you something Sasuke, something that will hopefully secure or perhaps ruin the future of the Uchiha clan. At the very least it should make things…interesting. But I won't write it here since this letter might be intercepted still even with Naruto-kun carrying it. I will be coming to Konoha at some point for a possible alliance, and at that time I will ask you if you wish to accept my offer or not. Do not worry though, whatever the answer you will not be disappointed.

Itachi.

Sasuke looked at the words, and once he tucked the letter away again he noticed Itachi looking at him intently. He sighed. "So, Itachi….what is your offer?"

A powerful wind blew through the training field as Itachi looked at his brother. He stood, walking out the center of the training field, and then with a flourish he removed his cloak and turned to face Sasuke again. Under his cloak he wore his old ANBU armor, the chest plate altered slightly to have the Kaze symbol etched into the metal above the heart. On his back was a new sword, the sheath black with several silver red-eyed ravens flying along the length of it. The handle of the katana had red cloth wrapped around it and a red tassel at the bottom, and the small hand guard was spiked in the shape of a shuriken.

Itachi smirked, unsheathing the sword and pointing at Sasuke. Its silver blade shinned in the sunlight, making shadows dance around the area. "Before I tell you it, you must pass a little test Sasuke." Sharingan spun in Itachi's eyes. "Care to deliver the rest of those million punches?"

Sasuke smirked, standing up and activating his own Sharingan. Surprisingly the pain he had been feeling recently wasn't there this time. "More than you know Itachi."

Another wind blew through the training field, and once it died down, the battle began.

XXXXX

"So Ero-Sennin, mind telling me why we're walking at a snails pace like this?" Naruto asked, his arms resting behind his head. Jiraiya glanced behind him, an annoyed expression on his face, but then he turned back to the front again without responding.

"Oi Ero-Sennin, I asked you a question!"

"Shut up you brat, we're doing this for a reason!"

Naruto sighed. They had been walking along the road this whole time at a normal pace, which meant no tree hopping or even a small jog. For some reason Jiraiya had been persistent on taking it slow, but every time Naruto got annoyed at the pace and asked him why, with Gaara silently wondering as well, Jiraiya would either ignore or brush aside the subject. So far they have only managed to pass through one town already, and they had taken an absurd amount of time in it too since Jiraiya had left to gather research and information.

"Why can't you just tell us already Ero-Sennin? It's not that hard of a question."

"Fine!" Jiraiya spun around, a slight tick mark on his face. "Since you're so damn persistent here's why! My information is old, so we're practically walking around blind! We need to take it slow so that I can ask people along the way and hopefully pick up some gossip and tidbits about any sightings that might exist of Tsunade. When I have enough to get a strong enough lead then we'll pick up the pace, but not before got it?"

"What the hell! I thought you said you knew where she was!"

"I did, or rather…" Jiraiya muttered a curse and turned around. "My informant did have some fresh news, but only so much. Back in that last town, when I was asking around, I found out that Tsunade had apparently skipped town and now is heading across the Land of Fire to a new spot. She could be anywhere, and until I can catch her trail again we're pretty much stuck following her old tracks."

"Then what the hell are Gaara and I suppose to do while we wait?"

"How should I know? You already have the Rasengan, a good load of jutsu, and apparently some mysterious contract you have yet to tell me about." With that Jiraiya shot him an annoyed look. "I might've trained you, but apparently you have it too well covered. And as for Gaara, well sorry kid but I've got nothing that could really fit your odd style of fighting."

Gaara surprisingly nodded at the fact, and Naruto sighed at it. "Great, totally bored on a mission with nothing to do to fix that." He looked over at Gaara. "Got any ideas Gaara?" This time Gaara shook his head, but Naruto still sighed. "Great…"

A few hours later the trio came to the second village of their trip. After acquiring two rooms for him and the boys, Jiraiya left once again to gather information. Naruto and Gaara, having seen how dull the village was, had decided to simply wait in the room for his return. This is how we find them now, Gaara sitting in a meditative position atop his bed with Naruto staring out the window.

_-Kami this is boring… -_ Naruto thought. _–Hey Kyuubi, do you happen to feel like training? –_ A light snoring sound came over the connection, and so with a frustrated sigh, a very common thing for him on this mission, Naruto shut off their mental link and went back to watching the clouds.

"Naruto…" Naruto actually jumped slightly when he heard Gaara's voice. The red head had been silent the entire time so far on the trip. "What is Kazegakure like?"

"Eh? Why do want to know about it now?"

"Many reasons…mainly since you are bored and I wish to learn about my future village. It would not do to accept your offer and yet know nothing about what I was accepting."

"Ah…" Naruto moved from the window and sat down on his bed, arms behind his head as he gazed at the ceiling. "Well then, Kaze…I suppose the first thing to understand about it is its history. It fairly new, only a year old so far, but everything leading up to its creation would astound if not scare many people. It all began with Akatsuki, the original one mind you, and then that whole grudge Haku-chan, Zabuza, and Kisame had…."

"Who are they?"

Naruto hummed as he thought over Gaara's question. "Haku-chan is my girlfriend, really sweet and kind but a skilled kunoichi none the less. Not to mention the most beautiful women you'll ever come across in any land." Gaara smiled as Naruto blushed. "Zabuza is kinda like a father to Haku-chan, and what's more he's the former Demon of the Mist. As for Kisame, he was one of the Seven Swordsmen along with Zabuza, and he's the jinchuriki of the Sanbi, Isonade."

"Why did they all hold a grudge?"

Naruto didn't reply at first, and a scowl crossed his face as he thought back to everything. "Their former home, the Land of Water and Kirigakure, it was a land full of scumbags and the lowest possible creatures in existence that dared to call themselves shinobi and humans. A long time ago, the people of the Land of Water appreciated the various bloodline clans that existed in their lands. With them they were able to do a great deal of damage in the Second Great Shinobi War, and if not for the power of the Nidaime Hokage they might have been the victors in that struggle. But after the war, things began to turn ugly…"

Silence filled the room, and if not for the slight feeling of demonic chakra that began to emanate from Naruto, Gaara would have thought he'd forgotten what he was going to say. _–What could their history be to anger Naruto so much? –_ Gaara thought. Naruto resumed a moment later after calming down.

"…The commoners suddenly turned against their treasured and prized bloodlines. Soon any clan that had even the slightest one among them was hunted and killed. A population of over a million bloodline users was slaughtered over the course of several years before anything changed, and it wasn't for the better. The clans began to retaliate, having become fed up with hiding their powers to try and survive. They fought back, and the shinobi became fully involved because of it. The Land of Water from that day forth was bathed in blood, and everything suffered from it. Poverty became common, thugs and the sickest abominations of humanity appeared across the land, and the villages became nothing more than run down shacks where bloodline and common people alike huddled together to survive. And yet with their country in ruin and only growing more so over time their civil wars continued on. They never stopped except for when both sides became depleted, and then they simply waited to refill their ranks before beginning anew."

Naruto suddenly sat up, a tired expression on his face. He turned away from Gaara, and stared aimlessly out the window toward the clouds. "The greatest and worst thing about all of this though? The Mizukage's could have done something to stop it all. They had not only the political pull but the manpower as well. The Sandaime Mizukage in fact tried to do so, before he was poisoned by sympathizers to the bloodline genocide. The Yondaime Mizukage was the brother of the Daimyo, and like his brother he shared a deep hatred for the bloodlines. With him in office shinobi who had followed the Sandaime's way of thinking vanished, and only scumbags who hated and killed bloodline users took their places. He in fact was in the front lines when the Kaguya clan rose up to try and destroy Kirigakure, and from what Zabuza told me the man had a smile on his face whenever he killed one of them, even the children." Naruto shuddered, and Gaara found himself doing so too. "That night was the night Zabuza tried to kill the man and bring an end to the madness that was plaguing his country. He failed, and because of that he was forced to go on the run with Haku-chan by his side. Kisame had left nearly a year before after killing several political figures who sympathized with the bloodline genocide. And as for the rest of the Seven Swordsmen…well they were all wiped out since the Mizukage had become paranoid and thought they all were bloodline sympathizers."

"So their grudge…it was against the Mizukage and everyone who hated and killed the bloodlines?" Gaara asked.

"Yes, so after some things were taken care of Itachi agreed to help them resolve their grudge." Naruto's eyes grew dull, but his voice became almost like steel. "Those two years were perhaps the greatest and worst ones of my entire life. I saw things that no man or women should ever, I walked through so much filth and ruin that death was more pleasurable, and I battled such disgusting humans that the Kyuubi himself said he would never eat them. I even came close to losing Haku-chan, and that day I saw everything in red. When it all was over, I wished it had never happened to begin with."

"…" Gaara felt something was off with Naruto's words, something much larger than anything he could imagine. "Naruto…what did you do?"

"…" Naruto looked over his shoulder and stared emotionlessly at Gaara. "We purged the Land of Water of all its sin."

Eyes widening, Gaara stared incredulously at Naruto. "Naruto…you…"

"Yes."

They both fell silent at that, Gaara's mind spinning at the knowledge he had just learned, Naruto reflecting over the past and all that he had seen and done. The sun set over the horizon and the dim light of lamps flared to life down in the streets, and yet neither of them did anything other than think. When bars began to empty out and yet with Jiraiya still not in sight, Naruto turned from the window to go to bed. Just before his eyes closed however he spoke a few more words to Gaara.

"I'm sorry our talk about Kazegakure ended up being so…dark. Whenever you want to talk about it later just ask me, but perhaps it'd be best if you wait until we actually get you there? After all, some things would need another point of view to understand it all."

Minutes later the still breathing of sleep came from Naruto, and Gaara looked over the blonde with curiosity. _–Naruto Uzumaki…you and your village are perhaps the most amazing things this world has…no, will ever see. –_ Gaara was asleep not soon after. The room was silent again, but then from the shadows of the windows light emerged Jiraiya, his form seemingly peeling from the shadows. His toad jutsu undone, he stared at Naruto curiously but with awe as well.

"Minato…the wonders and horrors your son must have seen…"

XXXXX

A day later, far away in Kazegakure, two falcons cried out together as they floated above the growing village. In both of their claws was a scroll, bearing the Kaze insignia and a small red cloud. The two falcons stayed afloat in some warm updrafts for a moment longer, before diving down toward the village and their designated targets.

One of them landed outside the closed window of a small apartment. It tapped the glass, disturbing the still sleeping resident from her rest. Muttering a quick and confusing apology, she rolled away from the window and pulled her blanket tighter around herself. The falcon was not so easily dismissed however and tapped the glass again. This time the figure within actually opened an eye, but since she was now facing away from the window she saw nothing and resumed her sleep, grabbing one of the many spare pillows around her to plug up her ears hopefully. Thus began a small cycle of incessant tapping from the falcon. Minutes passed and the falcon did not stop, and it was beginning to annoy the women inside. Chakra boiled up within her, black and white like the flames of Amaterasu. It seemingly whispered of screaming souls, but unfortunately for the falcon it did not hear such things. Her fingers turned into claws, fangs jutted from her lips, and as one eye cracked open the yellow glow of a feline's eye narrowed in grumpy rage.

The falcon tapped once more, this time particularly hard, and then with a cut off squawk it was dragged inside by Yugito's demonic clawed hand. She stared at the falcon in her hands, eyes still glowing and the claws nearly drawing the falcon's blood.

"_**It's only noon…"**_ She hissed and muttered. _**"You better have a damn good reason for messing with my cat nap, bird."**_

The falcon struggled, crying out and trying to break free of Yugito's grip. During all of this Yugito finally broke free of her sleepy daze and noticed the insignia and scroll that the falcon had. Instantly the chakra vanished back within her, and with a curse she practically ripped the scroll off of the falcon. She looked at the scroll, then to the falcon, and with an amused purr she threw the bird out the window, this time with the glass in the way.

"That's what you get for messing with my sleep…"

Opening the scroll and applying the needed blood, she read over the words within with a small smile. _–So things are finally underway. I was wondering how long it would take for Naruto to get the alliance ready. –_ She frowned once her orders were read. _–But why the hell I gotta go all the way to Konoha just for some stupid signing ceremony? –_

"**Purr…Relax kitten, it is not so bad really. This means we get to see Kyuubi-kun and his vessel again."** Nekomata said. Hearing her words, Yugito sighed at the Nibi's strange ideas. _–Neko, how many times do I have to remind you that Haku is Naruto's girlfriend? –_

"**But kitten, you know I won't accept anyone besides a jinchuriki as a mate. And I doubt the fish man is someone you'd actually like to be with."** Involuntarily an image of Yugito together with Kisame crossed her mind, and as she shuddered the Nibi purred in amusement. **"See?"**

_-Doesn't mean I'll actually steal Naruto away. Damn, now I need something to wash the image away with… -_

"**Oh some milk with do you fine kitten, and some fish would go well with it too."** Yugito began muttering about her demons strange tastes, and Nekomata snorted in annoyance. **"This coming from a girl with a terrible sweet tooth…"**

Meanwhile, the second falcon had also found its target, but unlike the first's its target was in the open and not so indisposed. It cried out, fanning its wings slightly on the branch it perched upon, and Kisame opened one shark-like eye to gaze at it. Grinning, he sat up from his meditation and walked over to where Samehada was imbedded in the ground. With barely a grunt he pulled the mammoth sword free and over his shoulder, and after securing its bindings he raised one arm toward the falcon. The falcon replied by landing on it, and after retrieving the scroll, Kisame set the falcon free.

"Hmm...A message…and it's from Zabuza too. I guess they've arrived in Konoha finally." Kisame muttered. He opened the scroll and applied blood, and as he read over the scroll his grin lessened slightly into a more annoyed one. _–So the alliance is finally gonna be dealt with at last huh? But why the hell I gotta go all the way to freaking Konoha to do some stupid signing ceremony? –_

A great rumbling echoed within his mind, and seconds later the Sanbi, Isonade, growled out in a voice resembling two saws rubbing together. **"It's because you're a part of Akatsuki stupid. It's your duty."**

_-Bah I know that, and who asked you ya stupid overgrown shark? –_

"**Stupid little guppy."**

_-Blue balled bastard. –_

"**I'm afraid that's you my pea brained host."**

_-Overgrown sushi plate. –_

Back and forth they delivered insults, and only after five minutes of this did Kisame finally give up on their little verbal spar. With a scowl and twitching eye, Kisame walked off from his training ground while Isonade smirked within his vessels mind. He mentally added yet another victory mark to his little score board. **"Kisame: 2, Isonade: 48"**

_-Shut up. –_

XXXXX

Another week passed between Jiraiya's little ragtag group. Naruto and Gaara, after the first two days, had finally settled to simply sparring against each other whenever they stopped to rest. It was mostly for Gaara's benefit so he could increase his own reserves and stop relying on Shukaku so much, but Naruto also found himself slowly improving as all the close calls with Gaara's sand had him increasing his Kawarimi and Shunshin skills. As for Jiraiya he had mostly stuck to his normal system of vanishing until midnight and then continuing on to the next town in the morning. When Naruto asked him about his progress, all the Toad Sage would ever say is that they were close.

Now they stood outside a decent gambling and historic town named Tanzaku. In the distance atop a hill stood an impressive castle, but what caught Jiraiya's interest were all the gambling locals that circled it. Not to mention that there had been whisperings of a busty blonde in the area, which was exactly what they were looking for. They quickly split up, spreading out and questioning all the townsfolk for any sighting of the busty blonde. Unfortunately all the sightings had seemed to cause a great deal of confusion of everyone's information, and added to the fact that Tsunade had already apparently been thrown out of several spots they had no real clue as to where she was in the town, if she was still there even. Night came, and with a sigh the trio simply called it quits for now and headed to a local bar to enjoy some food and sake in Jiraiya's case.

Jiraiya entered first, pushing aside the flap, and once he was on the other side he froze. Sitting on the other end of the bar, behind a small rice paper divider, was Tsunade and a short black haired woman in a blue kimono. In her hands was a little pig, and when Jiraiya had frozen it had let out a little squeal to let them both know of the man's presence.

"Tsunade!" Jiraiya yelled. Naruto and Gaara both looked around the man at that, and as they took in the future Godaime Hokage the woman herself sat up.

"J-Jiraiya?" Tsunade stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you!" Jiraiya grinned and walked over to their table, Naruto and Gaara following silently. When all three of them were seated across from the women and additional meals and sake were ordered, Tsunade finally decided to ask some questions.

"So why's a pervert like you looking for me? It better not be for one of those stupid books of yours."

"Oh, it's nothing like that, this time at least." Jiraiya quickly waved a hand dismissively in case Tsunade decided to pound him. "Anyway Tsunade, there's a situation at home that sensei wants you to take care of, two things actually." Jiraiya reached into his vest, and he carefully slid the Hokage's letter over to Tsunade before continuing. "This letter refers to one of the matters, and the second in fact is this kid here." He pointed to Gaara, and the red head nodded when Tsunade glanced at him. She picked up the letter, opening it and reading over the words inside, and after a minute she set it down again. Eyes closed, she took a large swig of sake, and once her cheeks were aflame she muttered two words. "I refuse."

"What! But Tsunade…"

"Shut up Jiraiya." A sigh escaped her lips as she took another swig of sake. "I'm glad things went well during the invasion and that sensei is okay, but he should know what my answer to his offer is. I mean, I'm the last person alive who would ever want that stupid job."

"Why?" Naruto asked.

"Because being the Hokage is a fool's job." Naruto's eyes widened at that, and when she continued his fists quickly turned white under the table. "Sacrificing their lives for sake of the village? Who the hell would ever want to do such a thing? Even Sarutobi-sensei was a fool, keeping his office for so long. I can only imagine what might've happened if everything hadn't gone as it did during the invasion. Killed by his former student would only be the first thing…"

Jiraiya frowned, crossing his arms. "Tsunade…there's nobody else fit for the position. You're the only one who can do this."

"Bah, I'm sure he'll find somebody eventually." Tsunade waved her hand dismissively. "If anything then the old man can just keep going for a few more years. He decided to retake the position after all when that fool the Yondaime went and sacrificed his life to seal the Kyuubi." Tsunade scoffed. "Now that was extremely stupid if you ask me."

Red flashed within Naruto's eyes, and a growl escaped his throat. Tsunade was either ignorant of this or she choose to ignore it as she continued. "Frankly you, sensei, and that stupid village can go stuff it. I'm not somebody who'll just foolishly throw my life away for some 'almighty' cause like saving the village." She sipped the last of her sake, and as she set the bottle down Gaara shifted away from Naruto as Jiraiya did the same on the other side. She sighed. "Hokage…it truly is a fool's job."

A sickening crack echoed in the bar second before the table was split in two by Naruto's punch. Tsunade raised an eyebrow, impressed at the blonde's strength but also wondering why he was seemingly so upset. As he breathed deeply and tried to reign in his anger, she took the time to finally look him over. He seemed to like orange, his strange orange shirt proving that, and judging by the sword on the back he must be learning how to wield it as well. His blonde hair was spiky beyond belief, but the headband under it was really baffling. It had a strange symbol she had never seen before, three wavy lines atop each other. She smirked, the sake messing with her mind, and with cheeks aflame she quickly marked him off as a shinobi wannabe. After all, if she'd never seen the symbol he had before then he must've clearly made it up himself. The thought of how Oto defied that logic never came to her.

"What's the matter with you brat?" She asked. "I mean, you don't even look like you're from Konoha. And what's with that little headband of yours? Too weak to even try to be a real shinobi so you made one yourself? You don't even have a kunai pouch or anything." Not realizing the grave she was digging, she looked at Jiraiya. "Honestly Jiraiya, I never thought you'd go picking up some kid who likes to play ninja."

A growl came from Naruto, and when Tsunade looked over at him again she saw her death. Blood flew from her as various cuts formed over her body, and then from the shadows two kunai flew at her and embedded themselves in her heart and mind. This played over and over, and then once it was done another death appeared. Two red eyes, easily twice her size, glared down at her from an infinite darkness. A mouth formed under them, and with a roar the teeth bit down and gobbled her up. This didn't repeat, but it didn't have to since it lasted long enough to hear the beast swallow her bloody remains.

The genjutsu finally died away, and as the killer intent that fueled it also dispersed Tsunade broke out into an uncontrollable and fearful sweat that flushed the sake clear out of her system. Naruto stood across from her, looking exhausted as his red slit eyes drilled holes into her head. Nobody around them spoke, Shizune fearful of her master's health, Jiraiya pondering over the situation, and Gaara glancing between Tsunade and Naruto. Finally the tension broke when Naruto stepped away from the table and turned to the entrance.

"…_**I'm going outside."**_ The words were like a whisper, but Gaara managed to pick them up. But what troubled him was the clear demonic tone that they came in. Naruto glanced once more at Tsunade, making the woman flinch, and then he stepped out of the bar. Silence filled the bar, and then the other customers inside it began to resume their chatter, although in a noticeably lower volume than before. Gaara stood, but was split between staying or going after Naruto. Seeing his indecision, Jiraiya waved him away and the red head nodded before leaving the bar as well. By this time Tsunade had stopped sweating, but her hands trembled every time she thought back to the scene moments before.

"Tsunade…" Jiraiya frowned when he noticed his voice's effect on the women, which was her jumping nearly a foot into the air. "What you just said…that boy…" Words failed him, and so he decided to call a hasty retreat. He started to leave, but then at last something came to mind for him to say to her. "Tsunade…I don't know all of it, but that boy is and always will be more of a shinobi than you'll ever know."

Tsunade lowered her head, and as Shizune checked over her in case of injury, the blonde couldn't help but wonder what her former teammate meant.

XXXXX

Gaara found Naruto far outside Tanzaku Town, in a wide clearing with a few sparse trees littering it and a waterfall on one end. He sat in the center of the field, red chakra wrapped around him like a cloak as two clones stood in front of him. Three tails and fox ears sprouted from the cloak, and with a nod from the feral looking Naruto inside the clones began running through hand signs. Curious, Gaara carefully stepped close enough to advertise his presence but far enough way in case something was to go wrong. The clones finished their hand signs, their hands now aglow with blue and red chakra, and the real Naruto nodded toward Gaara before increasing his concentration.

Slowly a fourth tail began forming, and inside the red chakra cloak a smaller cloak of blue chakra formed just above the skin. The red chakra became denser and darker, turning from a fire red to the dark red that blood usually was. Naruto's form disappeared behind it, and when he was lost from sight the chakra began molding itself into a more agile form, one resembling a fox more than a human. The eye holes faded from blue to pure white, and an inhuman glow shined just behind them. A series of cracking sounds echoed from Naruto, and then suddenly a jagged mouth of chakra teeth formed in the proper place, a similar glow emanating from the seemingly real chakra throat like the one inside the eyes.

"_**Guooooo…"**_

Gaara tensed with Naruto's strange wail, and as this transformed Naruto looked around curiously he feared that Naruto had lost his mind from the change. Its eyes flashed red, and then suddenly Naruto seemed to snap out of his daze and relax more. He nodded toward his two clones, and then they both approached, one laying their hands on his stomach with the other placing their's on his head.

"_**Guuu…"**_

Slowly the clones sent their chakra into the red chakra of the cloak, creating small ripples on the surface of it. A seal formed upon the transformed Naruto's stomach, but it glowed with white light as if active and even changed colors whenever a chakra ripple flowed through it. On Naruto's head the ripples were having a similar effect, but instead of a seal various lines started to stretch out from the clones fingers and dived into the eye holes, turning them into various colors as well. Gaara watched all of this with slight fear and awe, and only after nearly a half hour did the clones finally back off, nodding to the transformed Naruto, and then dispelled themselves. Slowly Naruto stood, four chakra tails lashing out through the air, and he slowly opened and closed his clawed hand as if inspecting it. A sudden shiver running along the red chakra cloak was the only warning before Naruto suddenly began twitching and rolling around on the ground in pain.

"_**GUOOOOOAAHHHH!"**_

The chakra cloak began to bubble and tremble, the eye holes and mouth shrinking and expanding as if unsure of their true dimensions. The four chakra tails tensed and shattered, the fragments vanishing into the air, and then cracks began running all over the cloak's body. In a burst of light it finally vanished, revealing Naruto who looked completely exhausted and with thin wisps of blue chakra still flowing around him. He collapsed onto the ground, his chest rising and lowering quickly to catch his breath, and with a painful groan he clutched his head in pain.

"Oh Kami…" He muttered.

Gaara took this as his cue to finally approach, and after offering a hand to Naruto, who graciously took it, he decided to ask his questions. "Naruto…what was that just now?"

Naruto rolled his shoulder, wincing as a loud crack came from it. "What was what?"

"That incident back in the bar, I've never seen a reaction from somebody before."

"Well you noticed the killer intent, right?" Gaara nodded. "Well there was more to it than that. It's a genjutsu called Shikumi no Jutsu, a combination of killer intent and the illusion of your own death. I can make it happen in any way I want, but the best part is when I use a little of Kyuubi's chakra with it too." Naruto chuckled. "Getting eaten by the Kyuubi is never a pleasant thought, much less an experience."

"I…see." Gaara shuddered slightly. "But what was that you were doing just now?"

"Ah, now that's a little trickier to explain." Naruto raised his hands, and after a moment of concentration he had them both aglow with chakra. The left hand had blue chakra around, while the right one had red chakra. Seconds later it all faded away due to his exhaustion. "For a long time I've been able to use Kyuubi's chakra fairly well, but recently I was able to maintain four tails of it. After achieving that, I went ahead to trying to control a fifth, but then I hit a snag. Because of the caustic effect his chakra has on me beyond three, I have to create a small cloak of my chakra under Kyuubi's to obtain the fourth and protect myself. But because of this I seemingly can't balance a fifth tails worth while my own chakra is there as well. And if I just only use Kyuubi's…"

Gaara nodded in understanding. "You would hurt yourself, possibly more than your foe if what I can guess is true." He glanced around the area. "So I take it this was training to obtain some sort of balance between your chakras?"

Naruto sighed and sat back down again, his legs finally giving out to his exhaustion. "That was attempt number 20, and each one has resulted in one type of failure or another. This was actually one of the less…explosive ones."

"If you fail, then that just means success is one step closer." Gaara muttered. Naruto looked up at the redhead and smiled. "Well then, I guess you didn't just come here to give out a little philosophy, what can I really do for you?" Naruto's expression darkened as a thought came to mind. "Is that old hag up to something?"

Gaara shook his head and extended a hand to help Naruto up again. "I was merely…worried. You were upset from Tsunade's words, and with that incident at the end I figured you could use a little training to blow off some stress."

"Well I'm fine now, and I'm too exhausted either to do anymore training today." Taking Gaara's hand again, Naruto stood and moved to sit on a nearby boulder. "But that still doesn't mean I can't try to think of something. We need to get her to accept the position of Hokage, whether she really wants to or not."

"And how do you propose to do that?" Gaara asked.

"…" A small wind blew through the clearing, cooling Naruto down and ruffling his hair. As an occasional leaf blew past, he suddenly focused on his hand with a curious look. An idea formed, and with a mischievous smirk he turned to answer Gaara. "It's time to make a bet!"

XXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:** This is a revised edition of Chapter 10. I hope you enjoyed it! (Any previous Author Notes from revised chapters no longer exist)


	11. Chapter 11

"Normal Speech"

_-Thoughts-_

**"Demon Speech"**

**"Jutsu!"**

XXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 11: A Bet's Aftermath

Otogakure might have been made by a villain, one that not even the cruelest of criminals would dare consider working with outside of personal preservation or fear, but beyond that it did what many hidden villages failed to do. It stayed hidden.

The official sight for Otogakure was located in the Land of Rice, but not even the greenest genin could even begin to think that the front that stood there actually was Oto, much less a location where Orochimaru would stay at. Separated into numerous underground and offshore sights, the real Oto and Orochimaru's personal creation was harder to pin down and locate than even the famed needle in a hay stack. He never stayed in one place, moving from one spot to another at least once a month, and while his army of shinobi was large, there were more than enough hideouts to split them up and keep out of sight from the rest of the world with. Should any of the hideouts ever be found, it was most likely to be destroyed mere moments later by some of the lackeys that he would always keep within them for such an occasion. And should any of the Oto shinobi be caught by another village then a slit throat would be what awaited them.

Orochimaru was easily marked as a snake, ranging from his personal appearance and skills to his entire mindset, and Otogakure reflected the nature of its creator in its elusiveness and danger.

And speaking of him, deep within one of his various lairs, the very man sat quietly in the darkness of his throne room. Candles littered the room, providing minimal lighting but also strengthening the shadows, and with the darkness disguising his form Orochimaru looked more like a demon serpent waiting to strike than a human. Bandages however covered his form, a simple grey kimono atop them, and the only thing left uncovered happened to a patch of silver hair atop his head and his left yellow serpentine eye. It flickered down to his hand, which twitched uncertainly upon the armrest of his throne. Slowly it moved, trembling but gaining more strength as it went, and once it was eye level to him he slowly squeezed the hand shut into a tight fist. Pleased with the test, he let the arm drop and his fingers uncurl, returning his gaze forward once more into the dim light of the room.

"Kabuto, I do hope you're not trying to sneak up on me." Orochimaru said with a hint of humor.

The shadows behind his throne seemed to bulge, and then from the darkness appeared Kabuto. Adjusting his glasses with a finger, Kabuto smirked and walked around to the front of the throne. He bowed. "I was merely seeing if you have regained all your strength Orochimaru-sama. I am happy to see that is the case."

"Yes, I am pleased as well." Orochimaru sneered under his bandages. "But to think that boy would dare do that to me! Filthy Uchiha, if I did not require the Sharingan to complete my plans!" Killer intent flooded the room to complete his unspoken threat. It died down quickly however, and once it did Kabuto adjusted his glasses again as Orochimaru fixed him with a glare. "Well? Get on with it boy! Have you obtained what I have asked for?"

"Yes Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto pulled out a small scroll, and after handing it to his master he began speaking of what lay inside of it. "It took a large amount of digging and luck from our spies, but I believe we finally have a solid lead on the location of Kazegakure. Interestingly enough, it appears that they are based somewhere within the Land of Water."

"They would dare claim a hold in Kirigakure's territory? What a foolish thing for them to do, as if the Land of Whirlpool wasn't proof enough of what Kiri thinks of other villages in their waters."

"What do you mean Orochimaru-sama?"

"Ah yes…" Orochimaru, satisfied with what he had read in the scroll, closed it and leaned back slightly in his throne. "You've never been to Kiri before, never read their hidden archives, so I doubt you would know of this. You must've only been around 2 or so at the time too…" Orochimaru rubbed his chin in thought. "The Land of Whirlpool, to the outside world and indeed for a long time, was simply a booming economic island bordering the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water. But after a while some of the inhabitants got tired of Kiri's ruthless ways, so they worked in secret to begin their own hidden village to compete against it. Suffice to say, Kiri was not so…fond, of such an idea."

"But…I have never heard of this Land of Whirlpool."

"Exactly"

The room fell silent at that, Kabuto analyzing the information he had just learned and Orochimaru basking in old memories of a certain survivor of the Land of Whirlpool, the only one to ever have been confirmed. He frowned under his bandages once those memories led up to a certain blonde Hokage. "That's enough for history lessons right now. I have read all there is in the scroll, but why don't you repeat them to me and give me your own…opinion Kabuto."

Kabuto smirked at the silent undertone his master's words held. "Yes Orochimaru-sama. As I originally said, we have seemingly located Kazegakure within the Land of Water. Such a discovery however was only truly confirmed once I was able to track down a number of informants who had seen several people wearing the Akatsuki cloaks moving out of the land and toward Konoha. But up until these sightings there has not been a single indication that Kaze exists at all within those waters." A thoughtful look crossed Kabuto's face. "If I may dare say Orochimaru-sama, I believe Kazegakure might have a level of secrecy that rivals Otogakure's possibly."

"Hmm…" Orochimaru gazed over at a large map of the Elemental Continent that lay hanging upon the right wall of the room. "But even which such secrecy, Kiri is showing far too much…kindness. They are a quite paranoid from all the long years of civil war and the bloodline genocide, and even I found it hard to enter that land. To think they wouldn't search with even the slightest hint of another village in their waters…"

"I believe I might know the reason Orochimaru-sama." Orochimaru gazed at Kabuto once more, and with a quick motion of his hand he ordered Kabuto to continue. "Kirigakure, in fact all of the Land of Water, has practically cut itself off entirely from the rest of the world. The fog that haunts the waters has thickened considerably, making passage between any of the islands near impossible, and any outside trade has dropped to almost nothing at all. A few of my spies have even speculated that there might not even be anyone alive anymore on some islands because of this." Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "But that was proven…wrong, once I sent some of them off to check and see. They disappeared into the fog and several days later I could only find their remains inside of their drifting boats, or never at all."

"Hmm…so they have retreated from the outside world completely now? They were always so reclusive, but to think…" Orochimaru muttered a few ineligible words and then raised his voice again. "Perhaps their genocide and civil wars have finally reached a peak? It certainly took a while if that's the case, but with the Seven Swordsman dead at their own hands and the bloodline clans not having enough time to train their fighters properly…"

"What should we do about all of this Orochimaru-sama?"

Orochimaru closed his one visible eye in thought, the room falling silent as he did so. Candlelight dimmed and brightened, their shadows dancing over the two occupants and casting both in a more evil light. Kabuto stood at attention the whole time, waiting patiently for his master to give a command over the matters at hand. Finally as the candles began to reach their ends, Orochimaru's eye snapped open again and an amused glint appeared in it.

"Your information has indeed been informative Kabuto, excellent work." The man stood and slowly walked to the large double doors of the throne room. With one hand touching and ready to open them, he gave his commands over his shoulder. "I want you to personally head to Kiri and deliver a message to them."

Kabuto bowed. "Very well, what shall this message be Orochimaru-sama, and may I ask how I shall accomplish this?"

"The message is fairly simply. Inform them of Kazegakure's presence within their lands, and be sure to press for a future favor in return for this information. It wouldn't do to part with this info without gaining something more beyond the destruction of Itachi's little village." Orochimaru opened one of the doors and stepped halfway out of the room. He turned to gaze at Kabuto with his visible serpent eye. "And as for getting there…tell me, what is Kimimaro's condition?"

Kabuto instantly caught on to his master's plan, and so with a smirk and quick adjustment of his glasses he replied. "Kimimaro's disease has finally caught up to him and I'm afraid he'll be bedridden for the rest of his life. However…he seems to have gained a strong 'mind over body' control with himself and can perhaps still function for a short period of time. With my assistance in prolonging this, and careful avoidance of any battling, I believe he should be able to last around a month after leaving the medical bay." The shadows danced around Kabuto's face and darkened his smirk considerably. "How funny, I believe that gives him just enough time to guide me in and out of the Land of Water if we were to hurry."

"Kukukukuku…then you know what to do Kabuto." Orochimaru finally left at that, the large doors of the throne room slamming loudly behind him.

As if awaiting this event the candles all died within seconds of the door closing. Kabuto stood there in the darkness, his face void of emotions as he seemingly awaited something. Then, a light formed above the throne, and as its strange black light somehow illuminated the room once more Kabuto turned to face the summoner of the light. He sat upon Orochimaru's throne, looking far more intimidating than even the snake man himself. His body was hidden not only by the shadows but by the large cloak he wore, only the occasional red cloud ruining the black form of his body. His face was hidden by a mask, but the one eyehole it had was more than enough to reveal the spinning red eye behind it.

"I hope his plans are to your satisfaction?" Kabuto said, bowing to the new figure.

"Yes…he can waste his time if he wishes in destroying Kazegakure. It does nothing to hamper my own plans, and eliminating that annoyance before I begin would merely be a bonus." The mysterious man replied.

"So then should I set out like he has ordered?"

The figure waved a hand dismissively. "Do as you wish, I do not require your service at the moment. Focus on Orochimaru and continue the charade of a faithful servant." The figure stood, and the black light above him moved along with him. "But remember my parameters, and should he ever step out of them…" The light vanished, and so too did the man with it.

Kabuto bowed again, and with a quick adjustment of his glasses he turned to leave. "It will be as you wish, Uchiha-sama."

XXXXX

Sasuke awoke to a new day like many others before, but this time he mentally, and physically, noted a slight change in the norm of his life. Not bothering to open his eyes right away, he shifted slightly to get a better understanding of the change. Something heavy, not annoyingly but noticeable still, was lying atop him. And what's more it was obviously breathing, with two fair sized mounds pressing into him every time it breathed in. A quick shudder of dread rushing through him, Sasuke finally opened one eye and looked down toward his chest. Instead of seeing covers or perhaps an animal, all he saw was a mop of long red hair, the strands of it billowing out across his bed as Hinote slept. To further add to this cute but erotic sight, she was smiling in her sleep as she snuggled her naked body closer against Sasuke through the covers.

_-I could've sworn I'd locked my door last night. –_ Sasuke thought, blushing madly at the sight.

With a quick Kawarimi, using a nearby dummy he'd left in his room for this very occasion, Sasuke grabbed his clothes and moved to the bathroom across the hallway. When he stepped out of the shower later and got dressed, he noted with a quick smile that Hinote was still asleep, that and he thoroughly enjoyed the view he got of her ass. He closed his bedroom door and moved downstairs, and once inside the dinning room he noted that only Itachi was there. He was reading a newspaper and munching on toast, but when he saw Sasuke he raised an eyebrow and then nodded. A crash echoed out from the kitchen, and as Uindo cursed at his mishap Haku could also be heard giggling from within.

"What's he trying to cook now?" Sasuke asked.

"Bacon I believe." Itachi replied. He took a large bite out of his toast and then sipped on some orange juice. "He's had the unfortunate luck however of getting hot grease sprayed all over him whenever he tries to pick up the bacon. Very interesting actually, it's almost like watching a fountain."

Sasuke sighed. It had been a little over a month now since Itachi and the other Akatsuki members had settled into the Uchiha District and Manor, and yet still throughout this time three things remained constant. Hinote would try to 'sleep' with Sasuke, Itachi and Sasuke would spar everyday, and Uindo would always muck up whatever it was he tried to cook. And what's worse he never gave up, even when Zabuza once turned blue after biting into a piece of steak. All of this did provide a little comedy to things, but Sasuke unfortunately happened to be that comedy more often than not, as was everyone else concerning the latter event.

"Have you heard word of Naruto-kun's return yet?" Itachi asked.

"Nah, he's still out on his mission, running late too according to what the Hokage said."

"Hn." Putting his newspaper down, Itachi gazed over at a nearby window with a thoughtful look. "It seems Konoha's new Hokage is not so happy for obtaining the job as many would think. I'm surprised they would actually think she would be happy, considering her own words just before leaving."

"Breakfast is ready!" Haku yelled, walking through the kitchen doorway with several plates of assorted foods. Behind her Uindo also walked in with plates, but unlike Haku he looked like he'd just walked through a storm of batter and something wet. Both of the Uchiha brothers refrained from laughing when Uindo glared at them, but that didn't stop Zabuza who walked in at the call for breakfast. He noticed Uindo, glancing over the top of his orange book, and then erupted into full blown laughter as he sat down. He didn't stop until Haku kicked him under the table, glaring at him for doing that and reading his book at the table. Everyone settled down after that and dived into their food, but seconds later Uindo went flying out of the room, his face green after taking a bite of his food.

"…Is it safe to eat our food Haku?" Sasuke asked, glancing at his pancakes with uncertainty. Haku smiled at him. "Don't worry Sasuke-san. I had Uindo only cook his own food today. That way he might learn to leave cooking alone from now on." Sasuke nodded, and then resumed his eating along with everyone else.

The meal went along mostly in silence, but once Hinote suddenly appeared and began eating, all the while with only winking at Sasuke once, the said Uchiha couldn't help but become curious about something. "Itachi…" Itachi looked over at his brother when he heard the whisper. "Why the hell does Hinote keep trying to…you know."

"Ah…well I'm not quite sure on all the details myself actually." Itachi paused to take a bite of his eggs, then resumed. "According to Uindo, Fire users of the Gogyou Tatsujin are very…unique, in their love life."

"What do you mean?"

"You of course know of their bloodlust issues within battles?" Sasuke nodded, shuddering when his battle flashed through his mind. Itachi smirked when he noticed it. "Well simply put that is how they come to love someone, more often than not at least."

Sasuke thought over his brother's strange words while he watched Uindo return, looking a little pale but otherwise fine. He did not however resume eating his food, opting instead to dump it into the nearest trash can and stealing a few bites from Zabuza's instead. "That doesn't make any sense Itachi."

Itachi nodded in agreement. "True, but does complete control over an element make any sense either, especially at the level they can obtain? If there is one thing to understand about those two is that impossible is not really so with them." Itachi paused again, glaring at Zabuza so he would stop choking Uindo for snatching his food. The former Demon of the Mist reluctantly released the blonde and turned to eating what he had left, and Uindo switched to asking for some of Haku's food this time. She happily replied, amused over Uindo's silly begging for food. "Anyway, Fire users have two ways of loosing their bloodlust like you know, but one of them has a slim chance of helping them find their 'true love'. This can only happen in the second emotion scenario, and if it does happen the Fire user tends to get a little…impatient in obtaining their lover. Usually their chosen lover gives in pretty fast, since 'confirming' their love has the added bonus of making them safe from any later bloodlust attacks."

Blushing madly, Sasuke glanced over at Hinote, and when she noticed him looking she winked at him again. He blushed even more and turned again to whisper toward Itachi. "But does that mean she doesn't even really love me?"

Itachi smirked as he took a sip of his orange juice. "No foolish brother, didn't I just say it helps her find her true love? If she has fallen so much for you, then obviously you are indeed that person. Consider yourself lucky actually, not many people are able to find true love within their lifetime."

Nodding uncertainly, Sasuke finally dropped the subject and simply focused on finishing his breakfast. Everyone was quiet after that and things sped along quickly. With all of their plates now empty and stomachs full, or half-full in Uindo's case, Haku brought the plates back into the kitchen to clean while Itachi stood and headed toward the door.

"Where are you going Itachi-sensei?" Uindo asked.

"Naruto-kun will be arriving eventually…" Itachi began. "So I believe I'll pay Sarutobi-san a visit and see if he has so or not. Either way it gives me something to do besides beating my little brother in our spars so much." Itachi smirked when he felt a little killer intent coming from Sasuke. Donning his cloak and hat, he bade everyone a farewell and left the mansion. Zabuza then pulled out his book again to read, Uindo began fiddling around with his violin a little, and Haku's gentle humming came from within the kitchen. All in all it was a pretty nice scene that had settled over the mansion, but with just one problem.

"Sasuke-kun, wait!" Hinote shouted. Sasuke froze, having tried to sneak away without Hinote noticing. Looking over his shoulder, his eyes widened when he noticed her wielding three kunai in each hand and a lustful look in her eye. _–Oh shit! I do not want to know what she has planned with those! –_ Ignoring her calls to stop, Sasuke sped out of the mansion with Hinote giving chase. Uindo sighed, lowering his violin for a moment so as to shake his head at their actions. "He should just give it up and get it over with already…" Zabuza merely chuckled perversely at the blonde's words in response.

XXXXX

Itachi walked slowly along the streets of Konoha, taking in the day and sights around him. Construction had finally died off and all the formerly destroyed buildings were back up and running. Merchants and shopkeepers were shouting along the streets to advertise their wares, and people were gathered around many carts to view these items or heading indoors to buy things within the stores. Up above the crowd, an occasional shinobi could be made out jumping across the rooftops, and from time to time even a genin squad would suddenly appear among the crowd. It was sunny day in Konoha, one of many that blessed the village, and it seems everyone was out enjoying it, Itachi included.

_-Konoha has certainly shown their Will of Fire to the world. To think only a little more than a month has passed since they were invaded, and yet here they are today looking none the worse off. –_ Itachi smiled as he pulled out a stick of pocky to chew on, this one vanilla flavored. _–Of course, Naruto-kun and his team was mostly responsible for all of this, but still it takes a strong willed person to simply go on after a disaster, no matter how quick or small it was. -_

Something suddenly caught his eye, and without even pausing Itachi made a casual turn to take a less crowded route. As he entered the small alleyway, the air behind him wavered, and then returned to normal without him seemingly noticing. He exited on the other side on a small side street, various signs hanging above doors to indicate this street as mainly being a bar locale. He picked one at random, the sign naming it The Chipped Shuriken, and when he entered he quickly took one of the more secluded tables. It had the added comfort of being in a dark corner, and after he asked the waitress for a bottle of sake and two cups he glanced behind himself.

"Would you care to share a drink with me, Kurenai?" Itachi asked. The air wavered, and soon Kurenai stood there, a slightly annoyed expression on her face for having been sighted. She took a seat across from him, and when the waitress returned with the sake Itachi poured her a glass. They both took a few sips in silence, and then Itachi removed his hat so as to let her see him better.

"You know it's quite rude to stalk someone Kurenai, and I especially don't like it when it's me being stalked."

"Sorry." Kurenai muttered. "It's just…" She stopped when Itachi raised a hand.

"I understand that you might not find me very…trustworthy. A reputation such as mine after all tends to paint a rather dark image, perhaps even an insane one?" Itachi smirked a little and took another sip of sake. "So what is your question?"

"Why did you do it?" It didn't take a genius for anyone hearing the question to know what she referred to. Itachi answered at first by simply sipping on his sake, and then he set his cup down to look at her intently.

"Personal preservation, the life of a precious person, the survival of Konoha…the list might as well be infinite. It matters not, what's done is done, and I for one do not regret it in the least. The Uchiha clan of old was stuck up, arrogant, and relied far too much on the tool that is the Sharingan." Three tomoe swirled within his eyes, the red behind them adding to the menacing sight of the Sharingan. "They seemed to forget that we are not the Sharingan, but instead are a clan of elite shinobi. We may have an edge on any competition, but that does not give us the right to deem ourselves superior to all and let ourselves relax."

Kurenai nodded. When she noticed her cup was empty she moved to pour, but Itachi did it for her instead. "Thank you. So why do you want to ally your village with Konoha? It just doesn't make sense if you ask me."

His Sharingan deactivated, Itachi closed his eyes and hummed in thought. He finished off his cup and poured another as he did this. "I have plans, great ones that are nothing to be trifle with. And to even come close in succeeding these things I will need allies, numerous and powerful ones. Konoha is one, and with their help I will secure more allies afterwards. And from there…" He shrugged. "Who knows? Perhaps I will even obtain an alliance one day with a village that hates another one I'm allied with."

Kurenai narrowed her eyes, the grip on her cup strengthening. "Do you plan to go to war, and drag Konoha along with you?"

"Nothing of the sort, in fact I can only hope my plans will take things far from such things." Satisfied with his sake intake, Itachi placed his cup down and pulled out another pocky stick to munch on. "Now I have a question for you Kurenai. Why are you following me, and don't say it is because you do not trust me. I know that is not really the reason."

"I…I guess I'm curious."

"Curious? About what may I ask?"

"I'm…not sure."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "You follow me, curious about something and yet you do not know what that it is?"

Kurenai blushed, embarrassed at the whole situation. "Y-Yes."

"Hmm…" A small chuckle escaped his lips, and after leaving money on the table he stood to leave. "I believe I know what that 'thing' might be, but I don't think it'd be sporting to go ahead and tell you. Good luck in finding out…Kurenai-chan." Kurenai whipped her head up to look at him, but all she saw were a few raven feathers floating to the ground.

XXXXX

The rhythmic and faint beeping of a heart monitor was the first noise Kabuto noticed once he entered the medical bay. The second was the combined noise of labored breathing and the small air respirator that helped the man on the bed breath. Various tubes and liquids were all around him and sticking into his body, and atop his forehead was a large cloth with intricate seals atop it to help maintain his health. The curse seal centered on his upper torso glowed faintly in the dim light, and for a brief moment Kabuto swore he had seen the strange marking stretch out across Kimimaro's body as if activating. A blink of the eye showed that nothing of the sort was happening.

"K…Kabuto-san…" Kimimaro muttered, his troubled breathing hampering any words he tried to speak. "What…is my…condition?"

Adjusting his glasses, Kabuto walked over to a set of monitors and turned them on, reading over the various medical notes that appeared on the screens. He frowned slightly when some of the data proved unfavorable to his mission. "I'm afraid nothing has changed yet Kimimaro-san, you still are incapable of anything beyond lying within that bed."

"But…I must…help…Orochimaru-sama…"

"Ah, then you are in luck." Kabuto turned from the monitors, and if Kimimaro had been able to see he would have noted how the green glow of the monitors made Kabuto seem demonic in the shadows of their light. "I am about to head out on a personal mission for Orochimaru-sama, and you are to assist me."

"H…How…?"

"Why, by simply guiding me into Kirigakure."

Kimimaro's heart monitor jumped, and his body shuddered with pain and shock. When this sudden and brief event passed, Kimimaro inhaled sharply before sitting up slowly in his bed. Tubes snapped and containers broke, but eventually he was finally free of his restraints and removed the sealing paper from around his face. He gazed at Kabuto with a neutral expression, his eyes almost like glass that reflected his dark future of death. "Why…does Orochimaru-sama…wish that I…lead…you there?"

"I must deliver a message to Kiri, and hopefully eradicate a potential enemy of our master in the process."

"Then…" Kimimaro coughed, blood running between his fingers, but when he resumed his difficulty speaking was gone. "Then I shall do all that I can. I may no longer be a capable body for Orochimaru-sama to use, but I will use my last breath to help fulfill his goals, no matter what."

Kabuto smirked. "Excellent, just as I would expect from you Kimimaro-san." He carefully helped the last Kaguya the rest of the way out of his bed, and after using some medical jutsu to assure Kimimaro was fine for the moment, he turned to leave. "Let us hurry, I wish to make it there within the month if at all possible."

"Hai." Following the traitorous medic-nin, Kimimaro could feel an unfamiliar sense of happiness as he walked to what he was sure would be the last mission he would ever undertake for Orochimaru. _–But that is fine… -_ He thought. _–For this will bring Orochimaru-sama one step closer to achieving his goals. –_ The curse seal on his torso glowed fiercely at that. In front of him, Kabuto smirked with a knowing look in his eye.

XXXXX

After leaving Kurenai at the bar, and avoiding her weak attempts at following, Itachi finally made his way into the Hokage Tower. Upon entering, he was greeted with the weird sensation of the tower shaking, as if struck by something large. He glanced around, and when he noticed others pausing in their work to look for the source of the feeling, he knew he had not imagined it. But what was really odd was that the ANBU guards scattered around the building did not seem disturbed by the event.

_-Interesting, I wonder what that was. –_ Itachi thought.

He walked up the stairs, lowering his hat more whenever a shinobi would come close to him, and soon he stood at the door to the Hokage's office. He got an approved nod from an ANBU guard, and when he knocked on the door he was mildly surprised to hear a women's voice call for him to enter. Now beyond curious, he opened the door and walked inside.

On the other side he saw Sarutobi sitting in a chair on one side of his desk, a smirk on his face and a cup of tea in hand. He was watching an angry women just now sitting back down at his desk, and when Itachi noted the blonde pigtails and busty chest he realized that it was Tsunade, the Sandaime's old student and now future Godaime. Naruto and Gaara were standing in front and to the side of the desk, the blonde laughing his ass off at something with Gaara nodding slightly as he noticed Itachi's presence. Taking it all in, Itachi moved to enter the room more, and then he found why Naruto was laughing so much. He felt something soft give way under his foot, and when the said object groaned in pain Itachi looked down, smirking when he saw the already battered face of Jiraiya now sporting his footprint to go with his feminine fury bruises. He took pity on the man and gently stepped off, but it didn't help that closing the door caused the edge of it to smack the man over the head.

"I take it he tried to cop a feel, Tsunade-sama?" Itachi asked. His voice finally made everyone beyond Gaara realize he indeed was standing there. The reaction of course came instantly.

"Itachi-sensei!" Naruto yelled, diving at the man and delivering a powerful hug to his waist. Itachi chuckled and hugged the blonde back, but then he pulled the boy away and slowly walked up to the front of the Hokage's desk. Removing his hat, he noticed Tsunade eyeing him a little warily.

"So…you're Itachi huh? The brat really liked to talk about you on our way back." She muttered. "Hard to believe you're supposedly an S-Rank criminal of the village while walking around like this."

Itachi smirked. "You'll soon find that a lot of…odd things, come with our village Tsunade-sama."

"Yeah…" She glanced behind Itachi toward Naruto, and Itachi couldn't help but chuckle again when he saw it.

"So then, shall we begin the final preparations?" Sarutobi asked. Itachi and Tsunade nodded, and after setting his tea down he walked over to the far wall where four pictures depicted the former Hokage's. He approached his own, biting his finger and smearing a little blood along the bottom part of the frame, and with a slight wavering of the air the picture slid down to reveal a small safe set inside the wall. A blood seal and combination lock later he opened it and pulled out three scrolls, one at least twice the size of the others. He handed the largest one to Tsunade and pocketed the others inside the Hokage robes he still wore. Itachi raised an eyebrow at this, but then decided to simply focus on the alliance document Tsunade was now reading over.

"Hmm…these are acceptable terms, and I see no problems with the shinobi exchange you wish…" Tsunade eyed the fine print of the treaty carefully. "All in all, I have no doubt that both Konoha and Kaze will benefit from all of this, both economically and in military strength." She smiled, but as she closed the scroll with a loud snap her expression turned serious. "There's just one thing I must ask you Itachi-san."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "And what is that Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade paused, a thoughtful look on her face as she thought over her next words. Glancing over the two Kaze shinobi in front of her, she steeled herself and pushed on. "Why should I even consider signing this?"

"What!? What the hell are you thinking Baa-chan? You just said yourself that it would only benefit Konoha to…" A hand on Naruto's shoulder made the blonde stop. He looked behind himself, and seeing the silent words within Gaara's gaze, he decided to shut up. Itachi glanced at Naruto, and then faced Tsunade once more. "My student and fellow Akatsuki does have a point. Why would you decline an alliance with us?"

"To make is simple? I don't like your plans."

"I see no reason for you to hate them."

Tsunade slammed her hands down on the table, standing and glaring at Itachi. "And that's what I don't like! You think you can actually pull something like that off? You really think people are just going to accept such a…a drastic change in everything?" Her fingers clenched, and with her inhuman strength the wood under them creaked ominously near breaking. "Anyone who's ever tried to do such a thing has only ended up destroying their lands, or dying before even the first real steps are made! And if we ally ourselves with you, we might very well suffer the same fate as you if you fail!"

"But there is something that they all lacked Tsunade-sama, something that I am confident we do have."

"What?"

Itachi didn't respond, and his neutral gaze implied nothing of the sort happening anytime soon. Seeing that he would not reply, Tsunade narrowed her eyes and looked behind him toward Naruto. To her surprise the normally expressive blonde was almost exactly like his sensei, except instead of being emotionless his eyes had a steely gaze to them that held back an inner flame. It was so hauntingly familiar that for a second Tsunade swore that time had reversed a little over 12 years into the past. Nobody spoke for a long time, the standoff growing tenser as Itachi refused to reply and Tsunade pressing for a response. Finally it broke with the cry of a raven outside the window, and with that sudden noise Tsunade sighed and slumped back into her new chair.

"You're not going to tell me anything, are you?" She whispered. Itachi still remained silent. She sighed again. "Fine, but I hope that…whatever it is, can really change the unlucky fate that your goal has had before."

Itachi finally broke his silence with a smile and chuckle. "I assure you Tsunade-sama, we will not fail."

"Don't worry Baa-chan! You can count on us to succeed!" Naruto yelled, even going as far as to give her thumbs up and a blinding smile. Somewhere two green spandex clad men felt a sudden rush of 'Youth', which led them to proclaiming various things related to it to the world, much to their teams chagrin.

Tsunade chuckled at the blonde's action, and then with a quick flourish she unrolled the scroll again and produced a quilt pen. "Well then I think we can go ahead and start signing this, but the ceremony will still have to be done in order to make it completely official. I'll make a copy and leave the signature lines blank so that everyone can resign it there."

Itachi nodded, and after accepting the pen he scribbled down his name. Naruto then did it, and once Tsunade wrote her name she closed the scroll again and placed it safely inside her desk. "Once the other Akatsuki members get here I'll have them sign the original too outside the ceremony and the copy as well."

"Hmm…speaking of my fellow Akatsuki members, I do believe we should be expecting them soon…" Itachi suddenly froze, and just before the door banged open he placed his hat back on. A chuunin stood in the doorway, a thin layer of sweat and his labored breathing showing he had rushed there in a hurry. Once he regained his breath he began relaying his report.

"Hokage-sama! Two mysterious figures have been spotted at the gate! One of them has been confirmed as S-Rank criminal Kisame Hoshigaki, but the other is an unknown kunoichi. What's more, they appear to be trying to enter the village under the disguise of Kazegakure's Akatsuki!"

Naruto ran a hand down his face, muttering several colorful curses behind it, and although Itachi's face could no longer be seen, his obvious annoyance practically radiated from him. "I thought I told that idiot to wear his hat?" He muttered. He turned and faced Naruto. "Come Naruto, we have an idiotic shark to deal with."

"Hai!" They both disappeared in twin clouds of smoke. Tsunade dismissed the chuunin with a wave of her hand, and after doing that she turned to face Gaara. Much to her annoyance however the red head was now gone, only a small circle of sand on the floor where he'd stood indicating his exit. With her new office now mostly empty and with the stressful occurrence she had just dealt with now over, she felt a nice bottle of sake was in order. She retrieved one from a scroll, and after gulping some down she sighed.

"How did you ever deal with this crap sensei?" She muttered. Sarutobi simply smiled and sipped his tea in response.

"Ugh…what the hell happened?" Jiraiya muttered, rubbing his bruised face and wincing at the bump on his head. Seconds later he was knocked out again by an empty sake bottle, Tsunade not wanting to deal with the pervert at the moment.

XXXXX

"So…how many do you want Yugito?"

Yugito glanced up at Kisame, an annoyed look on her face. "We're not here to kill them, baka. We're supposed to be signing a treaty with them."

"Really?" Adjusting his Samehada, Kisame looked over the small crowd of jonin and ANBU that formed a semicircle in front of them and the gate. Each of them were brandishing one form of weapon or another, and the ANBU even had what looked to be the first hand sign of various jutsu's all ready. What's more, Kisame could even feel the two chuunin gate guards behind them preparing to attack as well. "You could've fooled me, what with the whole warm reception and all."

"**Perhaps then you should've worn your hat like Itachi's always telling you to?"**

_-Shut up Isonade. –_

"Perhaps then you should've worn your hat like Itachi's always telling you to?" Yugito asked.

Silence met her words as Kisame stared at her with a curious gaze. She felt his gaze, and when she looked up to him with an eyebrow raised Kisame decided to ask his question. "Since when could you hear what Isonade said Yugito?"

Both Yugito and the two demons they held sweatdropped. "Baka." She muttered.

"**Baka."** Both demons growled.

An ANBU broke off from the group and approached, raising his ninjato toward the two. "Kisame Hoshigaki, you and your companion are to surrender at once. Refusal to comply will result in forceful restraining and possible immediate execution."

Both Kisame and Yugito stared at him, the former with a large grin on his face while the latter looked annoyed. Neither of them said nor did anything, and taking this as refusal the ANBU began to motion for the others to attack. That's when Kisame spoke up. "10."

"Eh?" Kisame chuckled at the baffled tone of the ANBU. He shifted Samehada on his back slightly, tightening his grip on its handle as well. "10, maybe 12 minutes, that's how long it'll take us to finish you all off." Killer intent began building amongst the Konoha-nin, but Kisame merely laughed at their attempts to terrify him. "You're all a quick and tasty snack for my Samehada to enjoy!"

As Kisame's laughter grew and tension finally gave way to attacking, something called it all to a halt. A cry called out above them, and with a loud fluttering of wings a flock of ravens swooped down upon them. They pecked and flapped at the shinobi, and while the majority of the ravens distracted them another smaller group began circling around Kisame and Yugito. Just before they were consumed by black feathers, the paling features of Kisame and the growing smirk on Yugito's face could be made out, and then they were gone. Seconds after the two Akatsuki vanished from sight the entire flock of ravens vanished in various clouds of smoke. When it cleared, the Konoha-nin let out a cry of shock in finding the two missing, and with a quick order from an ANUB captain they all spread out to find and capture the two.

Meanwhile, over in the Uchiha district a similar scene was beginning to occur. Ravens swarmed in the training field, and when they cleared away they revealed several people now standing there. Itachi stood in front of Kisame, glaring with Sharingan activated at the poor shark man. Nearby Yugito was leaning against a tree and talking with Naruto, both of whom were splitting their time between talking and smiling at the scene in front of them.

"Kisame…" Itachi was slightly satisfied when Kisame flinched. "What have I told you about wearing your hat when traveling? You know you're not exactly the stealthiest person, and that's not counting that mammoth sword of yours."

"Umm…I…forgot?" Kisame nearly asked.

Silence filled the air, tension and killer intent mounting, and then with a sigh Itachi smacked Kisame over the head before deactivating his Sharingan. "Baka…just remember to wear it next time." The Sharingan flared to life again for a moment. "GOT IT!?"

"YES SIR!" Yugito and Naruto snickered when Kisame literally jumped and stood at attention.

"Good." Itachi turned and walked to the door. "Well now since that's taken care of lets get on with the rest of it shall we?"

The four quickly made their way indoors, but the small peace they had obtained was broken when Naruto suddenly found himself staring up at the ceiling. Dazed, it took him a minute to realize that the ceiling couldn't have beautiful brown eyes like it seemed to, and then once Haku's face became clear he smiled ear to ear. He opened his mouth to speak, but Haku stole his lips with hers before anything could come out. They kept this up for over a minute, both even providing a little tongue to it, and then as they broke for air Itachi coughed to gain their attention. "Now, now Haku-chan, you can spend time with Naruto-kun later after all matters are taken care of." Both blushed brightly, and Itachi couldn't help but mess with them a little further. "And besides, I doubt you'd let us watch without paying first." That got Itachi's desired reaction, namely Haku's eyes glazing over while blood began trickling down Naruto's nose despite his glare.

"So where are Uindo and Hinote?" Kisame asked. Footsteps came from ahead of them, and from around a corner Uindo walked up to them with a smile.

"I'm right here, and I'm pretty sure my sister's trying to nab Sasuke again." Uindo replied.

"Why does your sister want Sasuke?" Yugito asked.

"She's my sister, and a Fire user, why do you think she wants him?"

Yugito merely closed her eyes and nodded, while Kisame smirked. "My, my, my, it seems your little brother is going to be reviving your clan before you Itachi."

"I highly doubt that." Itachi snapped, suddenly irritated by the implication.

"So should I go find her Itachi-sensei?" Uindo asked. Calming down, Itachi shook his head and raised a finger.

"There is no need." Pointing, Itachi turned everyone's direction to the end of the hallway where the front door lay. No sooner had everyone looked at it did it slam open and closed, Sasuke now inside the house breathing heavily with cuts running along his clothes. He didn't even register anyone there as he frantically looked around for escape. He found it by running up the stairs, and with the loud slamming of his room door Hinote also appeared in the hallway around the others, her entrance marked with the flames of her Shunshin. Smiling and wielding a kunai, she practically skipped up the stairs and began the tedious task of picking the lock, which was severely reinforced to stop her from doing so. A minute passed as everyone simply walked upstairs to watch her work, but eventually Itachi grew tired of this and decided to save his brother…for now at least.

"Hinote…" Hinote ignored Itachi as she continued her task.

"…Hinote…" She could feel something begin to give out inside the lock, and so with a huge grin she sped up in her attempts.

"Hinote" A click sounded within the door, and with a small cry of success she stood and placed a hand on the knob.

"HINOTE!"

"EEK!"

Spinning around, Hinote finally took note of Itachi and the others standing there. Sporting a slight blush in embarrassment, she grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "H-Hello there Itachi-sensei…Heheh…"

Itachi sighed. "You can rape my brother later Hinote…" A loud squawk came from within Sasuke's room at that and Hinote looked close to laughing evilly. "We need to settle some Akatsuki business, so it's time to behave."

"Hai, Itachi-sensei!" Itachi took one careful look over Hinote, before nodding in approval and walking down the stairs. Everyone followed, but just as many began walking to the dinning room for the meeting Itachi waved them over to the door. "We shall use the Uchiha council chamber, much more secure and I'm certain the silencing seals are still operational too."

They all left the house, walking through the old and abandoned streets of the Uchiha district. After a few minutes they turned a final corner and entered a small courtyard, the stone pavement still retaining a faint red color from that night long ago. On the far end was the round front wall of the council chamber, various uchiwa running along it to mark the importance of the building to the Uchiha clan. Sliding open the main door, Itachi led them through a circling hallway and to another double door, this one made of iron and clearly reinforced by seals. Itachi merely swiped some of his blood across it and bade them all inside once the seals died off. Inside was the council chamber itself, a semi circular room with the clan heads seat elevated slightly and by itself on the flat side of the room with elevated council seats facing it on the other side. Itachi took that seat while the others took to the council ones, Yugito muttering once about how the blood on her seat might ruin her cloak despite having dried up years ago.

Everyone now seated and business set to begin, Itachi locked his fingers together and leaned his chin on them, staring intently at everyone. "Now then, let this meeting of the Kazegakure Akatsuki begin. Naruto, if you would please start off?"

Not bothering to stand, Naruto leaned back in his chair and proper his feet on the empty chair below him. "Gaara has accepted our offer to join Kazegakure, and he's also already signed his half of the transfer papers. All that is left to do is get Suna to go along with it."

"That might be difficult to do, what with there being no Kazekage and the hatred his village has for him," Uindo said.

"No such thing, all that's needed is…persuasion." Itachi closed his eyes, and then opened them once an idea came to mind. "Uindo, I'd like you to head to Suna with Gaara and make sure everyone realizes the benefits of taking him off their hands…physically if needed. And also extend an alliance with them as well, it wouldn't do to leave such a chance for one open."

"Hai, Itachi-sensei."

"I'm sure everyone here knows that the treaty is ready to be signed and completed." Hinote suddenly spoke up. "So what's next after we sign it?"

"Hmm…allying ourselves with Konoha has many benefits and drawbacks as well. While they are indeed one of the strongest villages, even among the five great, they also have many powerful enemies because of this. Iwa is perhaps the greatest example of this, and I doubt any alliance with them now will work." Itachi muttered.

"So is there nobody we can ally with now?" Kisame asked.

"No, but as I knew it is going to be very difficult from now on to obtain any."

"Well…at least we can be sure that Takigakure will ally with us. They always form an alliance with anyone Konoha has." Uindo said.

Itachi nodded. "True, but in case they falter for some reason I want you to go there Yugito and make sure they do ally with us." Yugito nodded in reply. Itachi then looked over everyone again. "Now then, what shall we do with Orochimaru?"

"Leave him be." Everyone turned to look at Naruto disbelievingly. "What? I do have a reason ya know."

"You should probably explain it to us Naruto." Yugito said.

"Err…right. You see, despite being a cunning bastard, he's also basically screwing himself over. Imagine, what do you think would happen if all his little secrets got out to the right people?" Realization crossed their faces, and Naruto smiled. "And with it all pointed at Orochimaru, we can perhaps use it to our advantage in gaining alliances with anyone we'd normally have a problem with."

"But that's very risky Naruto-kun." Haku said. "What's to assure that everything will really work in our favor?"

"While you do have a point Haku, I'm afraid I must agree with Naruto-kun at the moment. We shall leave Orochimaru to his scheming, and when we're certain he's gathered enough evidence against himself we'll send it to everyone that'll need to know it." Everyone nodded, and Itachi smiled from behind his fingers. "Now then, I've heard an interesting thing from some of the ANBU and Sarutobi-san. Is it true that one of Orochimaru's elites has been captured?"

"I can vouch for that. Gaara told me all about how he spared this girl named Tayuya and had his siblings capture her. She's seems to actually hate the Hebi-teme and has a pretty nasty potty mouth, plus since she has a curse seal I'm sure she'd be really useful in finding some way to remove them." Naruto said.

"Any chance we can get Tsunade-sama to transfer her over to us?" Uindo asked. Naruto shook his head. "Not likely. Plus I don't think we should anyway, she'd be a lot more useful here in Konoha where Baa-chan can look over the curse seal research herself."

"Very well, Konoha can keep her, but I still think she's too valuable to simply leave to Konoha alone." Another idea suddenly struck Itachi. "I have it. After Gaara and Uindo have dealt with the transfer matters, I want Gaara to return here to Konoha and act on our behalf in interrogating her."

"I'll be sure to relay the mission to Gaara during our trip." Uindo said.

"Good, then to end this meeting I have a mission for you Kisame." Kisame perked up at this. "I want you to gather a small squad of chuunin once we return to the village and take them with you on some infiltration and sabotage missions in the Land of Rice. Just because we'll leave Orochimaru alone for now doesn't mean we'll leave his lackeys alone. The time frame will be a month, and should you become compromised before that time I want you to immediately pull out, no crazy antics, understood?"

Kisame nodded, and then began chuckling to himself. "Fresh blood…" He muttered gleefully.

"Is there anything else?" Itachi glanced over everyone, and when nobody voiced anything he stood and stepped down from his seat. "Then I declare this meeting…over." In a flash various Shunshin filled the room, everyone including Itachi heading off to deal with their own business or fun.

XXXXX

Ramen was heaven, ramen was Kami's divine gift to man, ramen and Haku-chan together was a disturbing fantasy that only Naruto could ever dare to have, or else. But all the weird ideas and beliefs aside, if there really was one thing in common with Naruto and ramen was that he could eat a lot, we're talking warehouse full lots.

And this was what Naruto was trying to do now, sitting inside Ichiraku with Haku and enjoying his 10th bowl so far. Behind them and outside the shop various shinobi could be seen hopping from rooftop to rooftop, no doubt still searching the village for Yugito and Kisame. Naruto smirked knowing they'd never find them, since Kisame had left the village until the signing ceremony to train in peace, and Yugito was far too stealthy to ever be found if she didn't want to be. Slurping down another bowl and ordering more, he turned to look over at Haku. "Neh, Haku-chan, how's Konoha been while I was gone?"

"It's been pretty peaceful Naruto-kun." Haku replied, slurping away at her own bowl of ramen as she spoke. "There's a strange tenseness with all the ANBU in the village, but I imagine that's just because they're still cautious after the invasion. How was the mission with Gaara-san and Jiraiya-sama?"

"Hn, I'm actually a little curious about that too."

Both Naruto and Haku turned in time to see Sasuke part the flaps and walk into the stand. He smiled at the young couple and took a seat next to Naruto, and after ordering a bowl he turned back to Naruto. "So how bout it dobe? I doubt someone like Tsunade was really happy to come back here. I've heard about her rather…fond hatred of the village."

"Oh, it wasn't easy…" Naruto trailed off into a sigh and he actually paused in his eating to idly push the noodles around in his bowl. "She downright hated the idea, even insulted everyone who was a Hokage before her." The grip on his chopsticks tightened to the point of nearly breaking them. "Damn, it was so infuriating to hear her badmouth them, especially since she was related to most of them in some way or another."

"So why did she come back then Naruto-kun?" Haku asked.

"…"

"Hey what's the matter dobe?" Naruto looked over at Sasuke, an irritated look on his face. "Sorry, just thinking over what she said a little." Irritation quickly evaporated however as a grin covered his face. "Well really, I figured the only way to make her come back would be to beat her at her own game."

"And what's that?"

Naruto's grin grew. "Gambling my dear teme, gambling. So of course I made a bet with her."

Flashback

"What?"

"You heard me, I want to make a bet with you ya old hag!"

Tsunade could feel her anger building with the blonde's irritating name for her. But instead of driving his head into the ground she simply huffed and crossed her arms over her ample chest. "Alright I'll bite, what it is you want to bet exactly…" She paused. "Brat."

Naruto smirked, knowing full well that he now had her hooked. "Alright listen up! I bet you that I can learn anything you throw at me within any time period of your choosing. It can be as difficult as you want, forbidden or otherwise, hell I dare you to even make an original jutsu out of thin air even!"

_-He's kidding right? No way could someone be so stupid as to make it that easy for them to lose. – _Tsunade eyed Naruto cautiously, taking note of his posture and eyes. When she saw that he was speaking the truth, she raised an eyebrow. _–I guess there really are people that stupid in this world. All the reason for me to take advantage of this I guess. –_ Now fully confident in winning for once, Tsunade smirked. "And what exactly would we win?"

"If I win, you come to Konoha and become the next Hokage. Plus you gotta hand over that necklace of yours." Naruto added to his statement by pointing at the said green gem.

Being reminded of the item made Tsunade flinch and wrap a hand defensively around it. It was a dark and cursed treasure of hers, one that helped remind her of the loved ones she'd lost but at the same time reminding her of the curse the item had for anyone who wore it besides her. But then as quickly as dread filled her at giving it away did she furiously stomp it down. _–Why should I care if he wears it? It's not like he's anything special, it's not like I should care if he's gonna live or not. Yeah, if he wins by some odd chance I'll just hand it over, skip on becoming Hokage, and when he dies shortly after I'll just retrieve the thing from around his…dead body. –_ Her reassurances only fueled her dread and fear.

"O-Okay brat…but if I win then you…you…" Tsunade searched desperately for anything she could take from the blonde, eyeing his clothing, weapons, and even sizing him up for the darker ideas she had. She finally settled on the sword strapped to his back. "You have to hand over all your money, and your sword." Naruto growled a little at her bet, which made her smug with the idea that the sword was indeed something quite valuable, if not in money than just to the blonde. "Oh? Are you afraid of making this bet now, brat?"

"Hmph! Not in your life hag. It's a deal!" They both shook hands, and after a moment Naruto grew tired of the sudden silence that had filled the air between them. "So? What's the jutsu?"

"Just give me a minute brat! I actually need to think of one before I can tell you it…" Tsunade muttered. Returning to her thoughts, Tsunade searched through the mental library of all the jutsu she had ever seen or learn in her life. She quickly marked off anything forbidden or near suicide. She hated the brat, but no need to actually kill him. Then she dived into the medical area, her biggest arsenal and hands down the most difficult jutsu to learn. Marking off the basic stuff, she thought about a master skill, perhaps the healing circle, seals and all? _–No, as much as I want to just cheat, it…just doesn't feel right. –_

A faint tapping reached her ears and Tsunade focused back on Naruto. He was still standing there, a little impatient but only showing it by tapping his foot in a rhythmic beat. Seeing the way he stood, arms crossed, slightly pouted lips, mock glare trying to drill into her brain to make her hurry up, that mess of spiky blonde hair just barely concealing his headband…

_-I've got it. –_

Tsunade smirked. "Alright brat, I've finally got something for you."

"About time, I was starting to get bored just standing here."

"Heheh…" Tsunade chuckled a little under her breath and turned to the side a little. "Okay, here's your challenge. Go to that pervert, ask him about the Rasengan, and make him teach you it. Once he agrees to, you have three days to train and master it completely." Turning fully, Tsunade failed to catch the fanged smirk Naruto was giving her as she walked away.

"What's the phrase I'm looking for here Kyuubi?" Naruto whispered. Inside him, Kyuubi chuckled at the situation.

"**I believe it's 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth' Kit."**

XXXXX

Three days quickly passed by for Tsunade and Naruto, although both of them had near opposite feelings by the end of the time period. Naruto had taken the three free days Tsunade had given him and simply trained on other things, mainly the jutsu that Kyuubi had been trying to teach him. He had made splendid progress on it, but although he was certain he had now mastered it he could not really tell until he had a test subject to use it on.

But Tsunade was not faring so well with such positive thoughts. She had at first ignored him on the first day, but when she caught sight of him returning to his hotel room she had been shocked by the happy smile he had and the unharmed condition of his clothes and body. She had been certain he would be frustrated, dirty, cursing up a storm, bruised, hell she even expected him to just throw in the towel despite the stubbornness he seemed to have. But when she secretly followed him the second day she was shocked. He first entered his little training field, made several hundred Kage Bunshin, and then using their memory sharing trick he split them all up on learning or practicing various things. As for the real Naruto, he found a comfy place nearby and sat down to meditate, taking on the lotus position and all. For hours nothing changed except for Naruto making more clones if their numbers dropped. The real one did nothing beyond meditating, and Tsunade found that stranger by how he seemed to mumble to himself at times. When he called it quits for training, Tsunade quickly left the scene and acted like she hadn't been spying when he returned to the hotel a few minute after her.

The third day was nothing too different, except that Tsunade was surprised to see Shizune walk into the field and try to talk Naruto out of the deal. She even gave the detailed story behind the necklace Tsunade wore, but Naruto simply scowled and marked it all as ridiculous. Not the dark memories, but the supposed curse the necklace had.

"I have one hell of a convincing comrade that tells me differently." He had said. "Frankly, I think I'll side with him and say curses are just a bunch of bullshit. It saves me from a massive headache too if he decides to push his point." Weirdly enough Naruto rubbed his head seconds later, as if a headache was beginning to form.

Shizune left after that, a strange expression on her face as she hugged Tonton, their pig companion, closer to her. From there Naruto resumed his normal training regimen, but about three hours before he had stopped yesterday he called an end and dismissed his clones. Taking a moment to organize the memories, Naruto then walked to the center of the field and unsheathed his sword. Slowly he began performing his swings, ducking and rolling when an imaginary enemy closed in. He stabbed and spun, smiling when he imagined several enemies dying, and then Tsunade watched in awe when he somehow divided the blade up into nine chain whips. From there things seemed to blur, the rapid movements of Naruto and his whips too fast for most to follow. But Tsunade could follow, and she was awed at the control and seeming ease he danced alongside his chains. He didn't just attack with the chain whips, using a kunai in his left hand as he guided the chain whips with his right. It chilled Tsunade to see it, and she only could see why when Naruto did a particular move. Spinning, he brought the nine whips to circle around him like a saw and cut through the invisible swarm surrounding him. He then raised the handle of his sword above his head, and, still spinning, he made the chain whips point to the ground as they continued to circle around him like the spray of a fountain, only the faint humming of metallic death saying otherwise to what the illusion made it seem. Then Tsunade noticed the chakra building, but it built so fast that it was mere seconds before Naruto yelled and stopped spinning with a powerful swing of his sword. Pure chakra lashed out from the tips of each chain whip, arching across the ground and crashing into a nearby boulder, completely decimating it. But it didn't stop from there and traveled past, a trench forming when the chakra crashed into the ground. It only stopped once it struck a small nearby waterfall, and even then Naruto's strange attack completely destroyed it.

Tsunade turned to focus back on Naruto, and gasped at the sight. He held his sword behind his back, the handle just above his tailbone and the chain whips slowly moving through the air behind him. They still glowed with chakra, red and blue pulsing together as one and continuing to animate the chains. Naruto's other hand was empty now, the fingers arched and his arm low enough to nearly touch the ground as he bent at the knees. He looked ready to pounce, ready to shred anything that dared to attack him. And with his red eyes glowing between the bangs of his hair, along with the chain whips still behind him and the slight growling noise he made, Tsunade felt terrified suddenly as a certain line of text flashed through her mind.

One swing of its mighty tail could crumble mountains and cause tsunamis.

She shuddered, only relaxing once Naruto slipped out of the stance and sheathed his now normal sword. Kyuubi's chakra was gone from inside him, and with a glance Tsunade missed that he shot toward where she hid he walked out of the field and back toward the hotel. Tsunade slumped to the ground and clutched the stone around her neck. _–So…he's the Kyuubi's container. Minato… -_

The next day Naruto didn't approach Tsunade about the bet, and Tsunade made no point to pressure him in revealing his progress. He knew she needed to think a little after the realization she had no doubt made about him. He would give her that time, and then smirk victoriously as he baffled her with a completed Rasengan in his hand. _–Serves her right, and it's not like she asked if I knew the jutsu before she challenged me to learn it. –_ He thought. For the extra day of relaxation he skipped training and simply relaxed, enjoying the hot spring of the town and talking with Gaara a little. The red head had apparently spent the last few days simply sleeping, enjoying this new found joy in his life that Shukaku had deprived him of for so long beforehand. But he easily spent time with Naruto and even told a little about what his old life in Suna was really like, and mentioned the red haired girl he had spared back in the Chuunin Exam invasion. Naruto made a mental note to check out this girl later for possible information.

It was on the fifth day after making the bet that Tsunade finally cornered Naruto and asked him about it.

"Alright brat, I might've…forgotten to have asked you yesterday…" Tsunade paused, taking a quick note of the expression Naruto was giving her. _–Did he know I was there? –_ She wondered. "But times really up now. Show me what you've learned."

Naruto nodded, and then without any real flourish he whipped up a perfect and complete Rasengan, the ball of chakra whistling as the chakra within seemingly pulled in air around it like a vacuum. Tsunade completely gave up on looking smug and stared incredulously at the sight. "B-But…I watched you train! You never even once practiced this, how could you have possibly learned the Rasengan in just three days?!"

"I didn't." Naruto admitted. Releasing the jutsu, he flexed his fingers a little and then casually rested his arms behind his head. "I learned it in about two weeks, just before the final exams in the Chuunin Exams. You never said it couldn't be a jutsu I already knew and judging by your stupid little smirk back then you probably thought I didn't know it." Naruto shrugged, taking note of the slight tremble that was shaking Tsunade's body. "Really it was your fault for not thinking this bet out more ya old hag. So I've technically won, and you've lost. This means…" Naruto smirked, and by now Tsunade was grinding her teeth and clenching her fists. "Welcome to the job, Hokage-sama."

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!!" Roaring, Tsunade charged at Naruto with fist raised and chakra visible around it. She slammed it hard into his face, crushing his skull and destroying his brain, and then when the clone collapsed into mud did the battle really start.

End Flashback

XXXXX

Itachi stared carefully at the two ANBU guards standing outside a large metal door. He had not worn his hat inside the interrogation division's prison block, since only ANBU were allowed within its corridors and he was cleared with all of them thanks to the Sandaime. But orders did nothing to dispel the anger and fear that many of the people in Konoha had for traitors. True he did deserve such stares and feelings, since he did indeed kill his clan, but really it got to be annoying after a while. The two ANBU in front of him, both radiating anger behind their porcelain masks, were beginning to greatly annoy him.

"I believe the Sandaime has told you of my clearance?" Itachi asked, raising an amused eyebrow when the ANBU on his left tensed slightly.

"He did." The more relaxed ANBU to his right replied. His mask was shaped to resemble a bear, while his partner had a rat mask.

"Then would the two of you kindly step aside so as I might enter the cell?"

Both ANBU shared a tiny glance between each other, the slightest turn of their heads being the only indication, and then the rat ANBU huffed before releasing the seals upon the door. It swung outwards, its creaking joints muffling a curse the rat ANBU sent at Itachi, and once Itachi was inside it closed behind him with a thunderous slam. Itachi took a moment to be sure no one was listening, before turning his attention to the red head sitting cross-legged on her bed.

"What the fuck do you want fag?" She spat. Her clothes were very dirty, no doubt from having to wear them nonstop over the past month, and her hair was in complete disarray around her face and back. The chains around her wrists had been shifted so that she could hold her hands out in front of herself, but otherwise the red skin around them showed they had been on her for a long time. Itachi smiled behind the high collar of his cloak, and then with a casual air about him he sat down besides her, making the girl glare at him.

"Now, now, no need to be so defensive around me. I mean no harm Tayuya-san." Itachi said.

Tayuya scoffed. "That's what they all say, and then suddenly the girl finds herself held down while they f-" Tayuya glared at Itachi while she shouted muffled curses behind the sandwich he had lodged into her mouth.

"No need for such vulgar language too, at least not while eating."

It took a moment for Tayuya to eat the sandwich, since Itachi continued to mess with her by trapping her hands with his own, but once she was done she bared her teeth at him. "Alright cut the shit asshole! Who the hell are you and what do you want with me? You sure as hell don't look like any of those hippies out there."

"They might be 'hippies' Tayuya-san, but they also happen to be future allies with my village." Itachi pulled out a pocky stick and began chewing on it. "And since we're soon to be allied, Tsunade-sama has graciously allowed me and my fellow Akatsuki access to certain prisoners, namely you."

"What the hell for?"

"You used to work for Orochimaru, correct?" Tayuya remained silent, only nodding slightly while shooting Itachi a curious look. "Then you no doubt have some form of information that my village might be able to use against him in the near future."

"Oh I get it. You want to gut that Hebi fag." Tayuya muttered a curse and pulled her legs up against her chest. "Well you'll get your information in due time, so stop being so goddamn impatient. It's bad enough I have to deal with that scarred freak in the interrogation department."

_-She's probably talking about Ibiki. –_ Itachi thought. "Be that as it may, I would like to obtain the information straight from the source if at all possible." A light tap came from the door, and with that signal Itachi stood to leave. "It seems my time is up Tayuya-san, so I'll make this quick. In a week or so one of my Akatsuki members shall begin visiting you and asking you questions. I trust you won't withhold anything from him?"

"And why shouldn't I?"

"You mean beside the fact that Ibiki-san will simply drag it out of you in the end if you resist?" Itachi smirked as Tayuya shuddered. "I have a feeling you won't mind telling your savior a few things in repayment." Handing Tayuya a folded up piece of paper, he turned to leave. Just as the door opened however, he heard Tayuya mutter something to him.

"I could've killed you ya know, the snake trained me well enough to do so." Itachi glanced over his shoulder, smiling slightly as Tayuya rubbed her now freed hands.

"True, but then that would mean you're obviously still loyal to Orochimaru." The door slammed shut, leaving Tayuya alone in her silent prison cell. She sat there for a time, waiting to see if any of her guards would come in and restrain her again. When they didn't after ten minutes, she rubbed her raw wrists again and unfolded the paper Itachi had given her. It was actually a photo, one that would often be found in a shinobi's record. On it was the upper half of a red headed boy, his pale green eyes looking cold enough to pierce your soul. A gourd could be made out strapped to his back, but beyond that the only real special feature about him was the tattoo adorning the left side of his forehead, the kanji for 'Love' clear as day. Tayuya stared at the picture of Gaara, the few memories she had of the boy flashing through her mind, and then with a curse she ripped the picture and slumped back on her bed.

"Why won't that fucking tanuki just leave me the hell alone?"

XXXXX

It had been roughly two minutes since Naruto had stopped talking, leaving both Sasuke and Haku hanging as to how his battle with Tsunade had gone. He smirked behind the mouthful of noodles he had, enjoying the sight of his girlfriend pouting at him while Sasuke scowled playfully. He wondered how long it would take before they started asking for him to continue.

"Alright dobe, stop messing with us and get on with it." Ah, roughly three minutes exactly. Naruto turned to Sasuke, feigning confusion. "Eh, what are you talking about Sasuke?"

"Naruto-kun…" Haku whined. "It's not nice to tease us like this."

"Hmm…well if you really want to know…"

"YES!" Sasuke and Haku both shouted. Seeing Naruto's amused expression, they both realized what they had done and blushed in embarrassment, Haku playfully punching Naruto's shoulder.

"Alright, I'll tell you." Naruto slurped down the last of his bowl and ordered another. "You see…"

Flashback

A loud explosion shook the field as Naruto fled from the enraged Sannin behind him. Tsunade's eyes burned with rage and fury, her main thoughts solely focused on pounding Naruto to death for, in her opinion, cheating on their bet and forcing her to do something she didn't wish to do. It didn't help that her plans were fueled by her chakra enhanced super strength, or that Naruto clearly was simply toying with her by maneuvering her clear of the town, thus reducing the damage she would have inflicted upon it in her messed up mindset. They were now both standing on opposite ends of a large clearing, several rocks littering the ground here and there. Naruto briefly ran an eye over all of this, hoping to see anything useful for his battle, but then he again dodged out of the way of Tsunade's punch.

A clone popped into existence besides him, several explosive tags already drawn from its equipment pouch and held in his fingers. It applied each of them to one of Naruto's kunai, and then the original launched a volley of them at Tsunade while the clone charged in after them. She slapped a hand down upon the ground, raising a slab of earth in front of her that stopped all the kunai. She then flipped it upside down, burying the kunai just as they started to hiss, and when she jumped clear the entire area was bathed in dirt and rock as they detonated, taking out the clone with ease. Naruto didn't waver though and produced three more clones, each holding a hand sign, and then they charged at the other blonde. Tsunade replied to these three by expertly kicking them all together in a roundhouse kick, but paled when she saw them smirking. A log splintered into ashen remains from the detonating clones, leaving Naruto once more on the run as Tsunade burst from the ground with an uppercut that barely missed. She closed in, grabbing hold of Naruto's shirt, and with a roar she easily threw him through a nearby boulder, a clear tunnel made from his body passing through it before it crumbled entirely.

She paused, noting how Naruto didn't immediately counter to her move, and carefully made her away around to the other side of the rock pile. Naruto laid there, his head buried in a small trench his landing had made. His rib cage seemed to have collapsed in the impact, and a good deal of blood was all over the ground around him. Seeing the red liquid Tsunade froze, breathing deeply and her pupils shrinking, and with this underhanded trick complete Naruto emerged from the ground behind her with Rasengan in hand. She barely noted the body before her turning to mud before her world, especially her back, exploded in pain and she went spiraling through the air. She crashed some 50 feet away against a large boulder, the rock nearly crumbling from her impact, but just as Naruto thought it was over she slowly stood up and shakily turned to face her.

If Naruto had thought she was enraged before, the look she gave him now would have to define a whole level of the word. She raised trembling hands to form a hand sign, seals running over her face, and with a shout Naruto could not make out clearly she unleashed her latest trick. Chakra surged around her from the seal, mending the wounds all over her body, and with renewed strength she shattered the already fragile rock behind her with her fist. She then grabbed hold of the ground in front of her, digging into it with her monstrous strength, and despite himself Naruto couldn't help but whistle at the massive amount of earth she picked up above her head.

_-That's got to at least equal about the size of a large house. –_ He thought. _–That is gonna fucking hurt if I don't move…hmm… -_

Tsunade somehow found more strength within herself to jump, yet again impressing Naruto with just how high she could jump with such a heavy load. At the peak of her jump she threw the mound of earth and rock at Naruto, and he luckily finished the long hand sign sequence just as she did.

"**Raiton: Tomoshibi no Tou!"**

With the pile of earth just feet above him, Naruto's body exploded in electricity. When the earth began to crush him, a powerful beam of lightning tore right through it all and soared up into the sky. Tsunade watched warily as the pillar of light faded, showing a lightly panting but otherwise unharmed Naruto. Dirt and rock littered the area around him, and not wanting to waste it, he began rushing through more hand signs.

"**Doton: Sune-Kudansu no Gekai!"**

The dirt and rock piled together, forming a dozen snakes before they dived into the ground. The earth rumbled with small lines of upturned earth racing toward Tsunade, but when they neared her they vanished and nothing happened. The battlefield grew silent, both standing still as Naruto continued to hold the last hand sign, and after a minute passed Tsunade carefully stepped forward. As soon as her foot touched down one of the snakes jumped out to bite her, but it was quickly destroyed by a well placed punch between its eyes. The dirt and stone fell to the ground, and when it did three more snakes shot out to wrap around Tsunade. They managed to trap her like planned, but then with a roar she ripped them apart like tissue. The remaining eight snakes of the jutsu shot up all around her, circling her and hissing a threat, but with a stomp of her foot she cracked the earth around her and shattered the snakes with ease. She smirked.

"It's that all you've got brat!" She yelled. The earth rumbled in response, and a massive rock serpent easily five times the size of the others opened its massive jaws around Tsunade before swallowing her. The earth snake hissed, coiling around itself in hopes of keeping her within its stomach, but its body was ripped in two with Tsunade's impressive strength. Naruto could see his jutsu was a flop, so he lowered his hands and then raised his right to unsheathe Kyuubi from his back.

_-Her strength makes close combat impossible, and any jutsu I use can probably be blocked or dodged. Old or not, out of practice or not, she's still a Sannin. –_ Grimacing, Naruto slipped into a drawing stance, the Kyuubi's blade rested gently against the left side of his waist. _–This ends now. -_

Tsunade barely noticed it before it was all over. She saw Naruto slip into his stance, noticed the small spike of chakra, but then the field in front of her was completely empty. Confused, she turned her head to look for him, only to freeze. Four chain whips were slowly moving in the air to her left, each one moving at a pace that made it seem almost hypnotic. She looked to her right and saw the other five floating there as well, and tracing them to their source she found Naruto, standing behind her and facing away with the Kyuubi's handle pointed straight ahead. He glanced over his shoulder at her, his eye shifting between red and blue, and muttered one word.

"**Inabikari!"**

The chains snapped back into the blade of a sword, and with a simple flourish Naruto returned it to its sheath. Tsunade wondered what the blonde had done exactly, and then she felt something wet run down her cheek. Eyes widening, she raised a trembling hand to dab some of the wet fluid onto her fingers, and when she pulled it back she noticed that there was blood on it. She then felt even more wet spots form over her body, running along her arms, legs and back, and when the blood loss finally caught up to her she collapsed onto the ground, the grass beneath her stained by the various small cuts that lined her body. The seal on her forehead returned to its dormant state and slowly she seemed to age before Naruto's eyes.

"…Sorry Baa-chan" Naruto muttered. He crouched down next to her, and using a basic healing jutsu Haku had taught him he went to work on mending the small wounds he had inflicted. While he worked he talked to Tsunade. "You're just too damn stubborn you know? What's the point of running, especially if everyone you know is just gonna bring it all back one day? You should be happy! You lover and brother died, yes…but now you can honor their memories and take the job they dreamed of. You can protect the village, your grandfathers greatest treasure, your sensei's too, from any harm that might come to it. Konoha can flourish under your reign, if only you can just get over this stupid fear of blood and accept the sad truth."

Of course Tsunade didn't respond, still being unconscious, but somehow Naruto knew that the message was still getting across to her. The cuts now gone and the blood having been cleaned up by him, Naruto gently lifted Tsunade up and moved her over to a nearby tree to rest against. No sooner did he do this that Jiraiya and Gaara appeared via Shunshin's and approached him. Jiraiya eyed Tsunade, taking note of the few smears of blood covering her clothing and her aged appearance. "Did you hurt her badly Naruto?" He asked.

"No, I let her vent a little and then ended it quickly." Blue eyes traveled down to Tsunade's form. "She was incredible though, and if she's so fucked up that this is like…only half her true strength…." Naruto chuckled. "I'd have another true fight on my hands, something I've missed for a while now…"

"…" Gaara carefully crouched down next to Tsunade and checked her pulse. "She's still very weak Naruto. Should we not see to giving her some proper care for her injuries?"

"Hmmm, I guess so." Naruto carefully picked Tsunade up again, but then Jiraiya took her off his hands. "Thanks Jiraiya. I think Shizune-san can take care of anything she might need, so let's just head back to town and drop her off in her hotel."

End Flashback

"…And after that, Baa-chan woke up sometime later and I talked to her more about everything. She wasn't very happy really, but somehow I still got through to her and she accepted the job." Naruto reached into his cloak and pulled out the very necklace Tsunade used to wear. "And she decided to keep to the bet and gave me her necklace like promised!"

"Wow…" Haku leaned a little closer and gazed at the green gem. "It's so beautiful Naruto-kun."

"Hn." Sasuke slurped up his second bowl of ramen and gazed at the necklace idly. "Not bad dobe, it looks pretty valuable. Why'd you want it anyway?"

"It actually is pretty valuable. I could probably buy a mountain or two with this." Naruto began, earning a raised eyebrow from Sasuke. "But really, the value of this necklace exceeds that with the right circumstances. Kyuubi hasn't told me much, but he think this thing might be 'the key to our problems'."

"Key?" Haku eyed the necklace this time a little warily. "Naruto-kun…is it safe to use?"

Naruto chuckled, and then leaned over to kiss Haku on the cheek. "I'm positive Haku-chan! And with it, there's not limit to what I'll be able to do, just you wait and see."

Haku smiled at Naruto, and then with no further words the trio resumed eating. After a couple more bowls, mostly Naruto's, they all parted and Sasuke left to head to the Uchiha district. Wrapping one arm around Naruto's, Haku giggled and leaned into him. "So Naruto-kun, what should we do now?"

Naruto grinned at his girlfriend. "How about we go watch the sunset Haku-chan? The Hokage Monument has the best view in the entire village." The two walked off, chatting and having a good time. Neither of them noticed or paid attention to the two shinobi watching them from the shadows.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:** Finally! At last I've posted this bloody chapter, and damn if it wasn't annoying! This one actually was hard to post not because of lack of material, but because there was way too much of it! Ah, anyway I'm glad that this is finally up, and the next chapter should...maybe...probably...be up sometime late next month.

Just a little reminder, all the original jutsu I've made up for this story(so far) will only be explained in a special chapter that I'll be posting after Chapter 15, and I'l do so every 15 chapters afterwards, all the way to the end where I'll have a final chapter listing EVERY jutsu I've made for this story at once. If any of them catch your eyes, then please go ahead and use them, but ONLY if you give me a little credit for having made it up. Till next time!


	12. Chapter 12

"Normal Speech"

_-Thoughts-_

**"Demon Speech"**

**"Jutsu!"**

XXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 12: Shadows of an Alliance

As is a common theme in the Elemental Continent, the Land of Earth reflected its name in its landscape. Various canyons and plateaus filled the majority of it, a veritable maze that could leave even its own inhabitants lost from time to time. But along the western border of this land, things were…different, a darker face for the earth to present itself with.

Embodying the truest form of earth's unrelenting might, a long chain of mountains ran along the border of the Land of Earth, the northern tip of it situated along the northwest and running down to halfway across the southern border. Along with the sheer scale these mountains reached, they also deflected most invaders by constantly spewing earth's mightiest element, lava. Every last one of them was a volcano, constantly spewing ash into the air and making the lands around them a literal graveyard for miles. The lava they produced oozed from the sides and tops, making unnatural streams of lava that many shinobi ventured near in hopes of learning how to control. Every attempt should be noted for having failed, horribly.

It should also be said that it is perhaps because of these mountains that Iwagakure even got the idea of starting the Third Great Shinobi War. With their ash and lava, they effectively cut the living space in the Land of Earth by a third, and with such rocky and dangerous terrain already it essentially makes any place that is already inhabited very cramped. Plus the horrid soil conditions along the west makes the Land of Earth very dependent on trade with outside lands and the few sparse farms that do manage to flourish in other parts of the land. Taking in a final account for the fact that the Land of Earth has the largest population count in the Elemental Continent, and you have only to await the final straw to break for such a thing as war to begin. It's ironic that most of their population and food problems were solved at the end of the war, not by winning but by losing, all thanks to the Yondaime Hokage having killed so many of their people so quickly with the help of his Hiraishin no Jutsu.

However, among all of these volcano's lays a very specific one, towering at easily twice the height of the others around it. Name Mt. Itsumaden, it is in the exact center of the mountain chain and the deadliest of them all. It constantly erupts at an exact time every day, once in the morning and then 12 hours later at night. Nobody knows why it does this, these strangely timed eruptions. But with the eruptions being several times worse than the other volcanos, and its height also making even the hardiest mountain climber pale, nobody can even approach it to discover why. It is a near impossible task.

XXXXX

"…And that's how it is."

Shikamaru sighed, the usually relaxing task of cloud gazing quickly loosing its splendor over all he had just been told. Turning his head, he looked over the blonde sitting cross-legged next to him under the tree.

"So Kyuubi really is inside you huh? Troublesome…" Shikamaru turned back to the clouds. "Thanks for actually telling me though. It's kinda relaxing to know he's sealed up in a cool guy like you."

Naruto smiled at the lazy Nara. "Thanks Shikamaru. So you won't be telling anyone in Konoha about this, right?"

"No problem…although after the way you fought in the Chuunin Exams, plus the fact you didn't change your name or anything…"

A sweatdrop formed on Naruto's head as he rubbed the back of it sheepishly. "I guess you have a point." He perked up suddenly. "Hey Shikamaru, how about we spar a little? You know, to see how our fight might've ended like?"

Shikamaru sighed. "No thanks, I don't really feel like it. Besides…" The unspoken words hung in the air between the two, causing Naruto to laugh nervously. The two sat in silence for a time afterwards, but just as Shikamaru felt his eyelids droop Naruto stood up and dusted off his cloak.

"Well I've got to get going Shikamaru. I hope we'll meet up again someday." Shikamaru waved a hand lazily as Naruto vanished in a cloud of smoke. The Nara sat there in thought for a time, and then he too stood. Hands in his pocket and head titled, he walked over to a nearby bush and slowly pushed the greenery aside, revealing Kiba and Hinata both crouched behind it and Akamaru perched atop his owners head. They panicked after being discovered, but Shikamaru's uncaring gaze told them they were not in trouble.

"You could've just joined us you know, and its not like he didn't you two were there." Shikamaru muttered. Hinata blushed in embarrassment while Kiba shot a cautious look over Shikamaru's shoulder.

"Dude, are you really that calm with that Naruto guy?" Kiba asked. "I mean, he did just say he holds the freaking Kyuubi in him. What if he, you know, lets that thing out or something?"

"Troublesome…" Shaking his head, Shikamaru looked over his shoulder to where Naruto had been. "He seemed pretty sane and stable to me. A little goofy, but otherwise…" He looked back to Hinata and Kiba. "Besides, if Sasuke trusts him, why can't you? He is your teammate, so you should know him pretty well by now to know he wouldn't do something stupid."

"Sh-Shikamaru-san does have a p-point Kiba-kun…" Hinata whispered. "S-Sasuke-kun is very nice, but h-h-he doesn't just trust everyone b-because they say he s-should. Remember the A-Academy, back in t-the second year?"

Kiba frowned, recalling how distant and cold Sasuke had been early on after his clan had been massacred. He had warmed up, if only a little, after some kind of talk with the Hokage, but before that…

"I guess you're right Hinata." Akamaru barked in agreement with his masters words. "Still, that explains his weird fox smell, but what bugs me is that other one he has."

This caught the attention of Shikamaru. "Smell? What are you talking about Kiba?"

Hinata and Kiba both shared a look between each other, recalling the minutes leading up to Orochimaru's attack in the Forest of Death. Kiba decided to explain it to Shikamaru since he had been the one to tell his team. "Back in the Forest of Death, Naruto met with our team and gave us his scroll. But before that, I got a really good whiff of him and smelled something…weird." Kiba's nose wrinkled, the memory of the smell playing through it. "I didn't really know what it was, but besides his fox smell he had something…mythical about him."

Shikamaru took Kiba's pause to think about it. _–Something mythical huh? Maybe it's from an animal Naruto's been in contact with a lot? That would explain why Kyuubi's scent is on him, but then what… -_ He sighed, feeling the early signs of a headache begin. _–This is so troublesome, why am I even bothering with it? –_

"Who cares what it was?" Shikamaru asked. "I mean, it's not like it really matters or anything. Just leave the guy alone, I certainly am now that he's explained it to me."

"Dude, but aren't you curious? What if it's something really cool, or dangerous, or…" Shikamaru simply blocked out Kiba's rant and looked up toward the clouds.

_-Clouds…how I envy them… -_

XXXXX

Staring up at the small complex of the Sarutobi family, the front door open to the public and watched by ANBU, Itachi couldn't help but see the comparison between the Sandaime's home and the man himself. Warm, bright, very well kept so as to balance nature and civilization, and filled with an atmosphere that spoke of wisdom and care. But underneath there was ANBU spread all around the outer walls and two were visible at the gate as guards. Very similar indeed to the now twice retired Hokage, whose kind nature has made him a loved one of his entire village and yet his shinobi skills have helped him protect that which he loves, sometimes with death.

He nodded his head to the ANBU, who nodded back in reply, and then calmly walked through the entrance and into the large front yard of the home. In the yard was a young boy, throwing a few blunt kunai at a target. A jonin stood on the sidelines instructing the boy on how to improve his aim. When Itachi passed by the jonin leveled a glare at him, but the boy paused in his practice to stare at Itachi in awe. Itachi noted how the boy was mostly looking at his Akatsuki cloak, and he reasoned that the boy had probably heard all about how Naruto and his team pummeled the competition in the Chuunin Exams. With a small smirk on his face Itachi paid them both no more heed and walked past, knocking on the front door and walking in once a female servant invited him in.

A few more corridors and a small conversation with the servant later Itachi knocked on the library door. Sarutobi called from inside, and when Itachi stepped through he let out a small whistle. The library was very large, easily the largest room in the entire complex outside of the dinning room. Every wall, including the one where the door was, was covered in book laden shelves, with various subjects from the simplest jutsu or fairy tale to the advanced workings of various countries economies. A portion of the far wall was just uncovered enough to permit a fireplace to stand, and around the empty fireplace rested two couches resting on either side of the opening. Sarutobi sat in the left one, a book in hand with two scrolls lying on the table set between the couches. He glanced up over the top of his book, and with an audible snap he closed it and stood.

"Ah Itachi-kun, I'm glad you were able to visit so soon." Sarutobi said. "I've been meaning to discuss some things with you."

"About what exactly Sarutobi-san? You've been very keen on keeping me in the dark so far." Itachi said.

"Ah yes, well it's not really something I should discuss in public, not when ears are listening."

Itachi raised an eyebrow and moved to sit on the opposite couch. He removed his hat, and after opening the top half of his cloak he sat back in a more relaxed position. "You certainly have my attention now Sarutobi-san. What might this all be about?" He glanced down at the table, taking note of the two scrolls. He recognized them from the safe Sarutobi had retrieved the treaty scroll from two days ago. Both of them were identical in size, but one had orange swirls carefully drawn along the sides and the other had the kanji for 'Fire' neatly done in the center of it.

"Hmm, yes, where to begin…" Sitting once more, Sarutobi retrieved his pipe from within his robes and carefully lit it. He took a few puffs, and then leveled his gaze on Itachi again. "I suppose the best place would be 12 years ago. As you know, the Kyuubi's attack was quite sudden and forced the Yondaime to drastic measures to save the village. To the younger generation his heroic deed speaks of how he slew the Kyuubi and to those old enough the seal and Naruto's burden is well known."

"Which led to many hating Naruto, and for some they sought to end his life."

Sarutobi flinched slightly. "Yes, a…unfortunate occurrence." He took another long puff of his pipe. "However…there is yet another story that exists of that night, and the days leading up to it. This truth is very select in those who know of it, with only me and my two still loyal students knowing the full light of it. I suspect Kakashi figured most of it out a few years ago, but with Naruto leaving the village he has never had a real chance to show this knowledge in any way."

Itachi sat up slightly, his curiosity growing. "And what is this truth Sarutobi-san?"

Grabbing the scroll with orange swirls, Sarutobi opened it to the first few lines of whatever lay inside. His eyes scanned the scrolls words, and then with a heavy sigh he handed it over for Itachi to read. Slowly, Itachi took hold of the scroll and began reading, opening the scroll up more once the beginning paragraph was done. His eyebrows during his reading began to climb, and soon after his eyes began to widen as well. When the last of the scroll had been read, Itachi finally reigned in his emotions and closed his eyes in thought.

"…I see, so that is why."

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes, now you know Itachi-kun."

"And what do you wish for me to do with this knowledge?"

"Nothing, if that is what you desire." Sarutobi paused, deep in thought for a moment. "I have never revealed this secret before for many reasons, but I believe one of the main reasons would have to do with fear. Fear over what he might do once he realizes this."

"Why would you fear him learning of this?"

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "Considering the rather dark life he led before you took him out of Konoha?"

Itachi opened his eyes, an understanding look in them. "Ah…" He glanced down at the second scroll. "If such a secret lies within the first, I cannot help but dread the second."

Sarutobi followed his gaze. "Nothing of the sort exists within that scroll. In fact, it just might save you and your companion's lives, as well as secure the treaty ceremony tomorrow."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, and the retired Sandaime explained.

XXXXX

It is not a well known fact that Konoha was not the first village to inhabit the area that it did today. When the Shodaime Hokage first arrived in the then vast plains of grass and rocks, there had been a ruined city of metal and glass hidden in the shadow of the mountain. He couldn't tell how long it had really been there for, but when he and his brother carefully explored the ruins they had found many strange and wondrous things. Many of which of course did not work anymore or crumbled when touched, but still the wonders they did find marked the city as being VERY old. The Shodaime, after having thoroughly explored it, thought to simply leave the ruins alone and build elsewhere. But then Madara Uchiha, his recently obtained ally and leader of the Uchiha clan, pointed out how useful the location would be and thus the Shodaime reluctantly plowed the ruins over with his Mokuton jutsu's and formed Konohagakure.

And so Konoha flourished, but unknown to even the Shodaime the ruins he had supposedly buried had in fact survived, though the means of how they did was lost on those that later rediscovered them. And the people that discovered them, namely the man that did so, are what we shall now turn to.

Danzo was old, old but politically powerful. He had also been a rather strong shinobi back in his days, rival to only the Sandaime. But his dreams of a militaristic Konoha under his rule as Hokage were shot down by the, in his opinion, blatant favoritism of the Nidaime to his old student Sarutobi. And then when he was badly injured in the attack by Kyuubi, he was forced to resign to a seat in the council and nothing more. But from the shadows, he schemed.

He worked carefully to extend his influence over the other council members and various happenings around the village, and when the Sandaime had reluctantly given him the go ahead to form his own special division of ANBU, he nearly doubled his efforts in creating his power hold over Konoha. He allowed only the best within his ANBU ranks, training them from childhood to be emotionless tools that would follow orders and only perform duties that ensured the safety of Konoha, in Danzo's personal view of 'safety' of course. For nearly 8 years this all went on unhindered, but then when the Uchiha massacred occurred, the Sandaime had been forced to put on a bit of a security investigation show. It had been mostly to appease the shocked civilians and unknowing shinobi, but then when his investigation actually did bring up something he was shocked. Instantly the investigations went on overdrive and in no time at all most of Danzo's plots were uncovered and his plans with ROOT were stopped. The ANBU group was disbanded and Danzo lost a large amount of power, but still the man refused to give up.

He decided to go underground, figuratively and literally. With his still loyal ROOT shinobi by his side he began digging an underground facility, and was shocked when they suddenly broke through to the city ruins below. But he did not waste this discovery and instantly secured it as his new facility. With its massive size and forgotten presence, it truly was the perfect place for him to hide and build his power back up from. And for four years he did just that, his ROOT forces now fully replenished and his political power growing back to its former level, and from there beyond.

Now we find Danzo sitting in his office, sipping at tea as he read over a report one of his ROOT operatives had just handed him. His one visible eyebrow was opened enough to reveal the cold black bead of an eye underneath, and with a slight snarl he slapped the folder down onto his table. From the edges of it escaped several pictures, each of them an identified member of Akatsuki in their signature red cloud cloaks.

"To think such an organization, no…That such a village could escape my sights for so long." Danzo muttered. "Over three confirmed Jinchuriki in their ranks, one even being our own, and now that Gaara boy is close to joining as well…."

A small knock sounded from the door of Danzo's office, and with a calming breath Danzo pressed a small seal on the underside of his table to allow the shinobi entrance. He or she slipped in like a shadow, only their pale blank ANBU mask truly reflecting any light from the candles that littered the room. The shinobi bowed, and once it spoke it was revealed to be a man. "Danzo-sama, it appears that the ceremony is finally scheduled to begin. Tsunade-san wishes to perform it just before noon tomorrow."

"Thank you for this information." Danzo said. "Now report, what new news do you have of Kazegakure?"

The shinobi bowed once more. "Apologies Danzo-sama, but I'm afraid our spies have found nothing new beyond what we were able to extract from Orochimaru's own spies."

Danzo frowned. "Then you are not trying hard enough. You ROOT shinobi are the best of the best, the true elites that guard the roots of the great tree of Konoha! Failure is not an option, for that leads to ruin." For a moment Danzo thought he felt fear come from the man in front of him, but then he realized that such an emotion no longer existed in him. It was merely a thought of his own mind over how the man would normally respond to his upcoming punishment. "You know where you must report now?"

The shinobi bowed, showing no emotion even behind his mask. "Yes Danzo-sama." Without another word the ROOT member slipped back out of the room and proceeded to the training grounds, ready to accept his punishment.

It was a few minutes after the shinobi had left before Danzo called in another operative, one he knew he could trust. Said shinobi appeared just a silently and quickly as the first, but in fact was much more skilled. The shinobi bowed. "Danzo-sama, you have summoned me?"

"Yes…I have needs of your skills in order to learn more of Kazegakure and their mysteries." Collecting the scattered pictures back into the folder, Danzo then handed it to the shinobi who accepted it with a bow. "I want you to head immediately to the Land of Water and track down the location of Kazegakure. Once you have, inform me of its location and begin your infiltration mission. I will want a status report at the end of every month, failure to do so will have me immediately announce you deceased and deny any association with you, as is protocol."

The shinobi opened the folder, reading over all the information inside, and once it had all been memorized he returned it to Danzo who placed a security seal on it. The shinobi sat in silence for a moment, and then bowed before leaving. The room was quiet after that, Danzo silently brooding as he sipped at his tea. _–Learning more of such a dangerous faction is all good, but still more must be done. This treaty should not even be happening. They should all be arrested and killed for who they are. And the jinchuriki, if I could somehow take control of them, make them loyal to Konoha, to me… -_

Visible eye opening, Danzo glared down at the picture of a smiling Naruto. "Risky, but it shall be done…" He muttered.

XXXXX

The next day came quickly for everyone, and the civilians were granted with a very special sight. Seven cloaked figures walked down the street together, their red cloud cloaks fluttering slightly in the afternoon breeze. The bells tied to their hats jingled with each step, silencing many for fear of disturbing this scene. Behind them was an ANBU escort, seven of the masked shinobi visible with nearly a dozen hidden on nearby rooftops and alleyways. A final person walked alongside this procession, the sole loyal Uchiha of the village in step with the leading cloaked figure. His ceremonial Uchiha clan robe, midnight black with a white ornate uchiwa on the back, showed he too was taking part of the ceremony. He was granted such privileges despite being underage in these rare occasions, where a clan vote was required and with him being the only remaining Uchiha. He seemed very relaxed walking next to the lead Akatsuki, and could even be seen whispering something to the person from time to time, only receiving a nod in response when appropriate.

They made their way into the Hokage Tower, and then into the council meeting chamber. The other council members and clan heads were already present, and after Sasuke took his designated spot Tsunade stood. She looked a little silly wearing the Hokage robes and hat, but tradition required she wore them on such occasions.

"Members of the council, honored clan heads, and honored guests. Today we gather in this chamber to form a new bond of trust and companionship between our two villages, Konohagakure and Kazegakure." Tsunade said, her voice echoing across the room due to the special architecture of its design. "Already I and my predecessor, the Sandaime Hokage, have given our approval and blessing upon this alliance. Now I leave the final enactment of this treaty to your hands. A copy of the treaty has been placed before each of your seats, and I ask that you now read it."

With a great noise of shuffling chairs and papers, the council and clan heads sat down and opened the scrolls. Murmurs rose from some of the people present, conversation breaking out among some, but so far none had yet to protest the alliance. Tsunade and the Akatsuki members remained silent, waiting patiently for all of them to finish their judgment. After a few minutes the chatter did die down and the room became silent, which Tsunade took as a signal to continue.

"Now that the treaty has been read by all uninformed of its contents, is there anyone who wishes to voice any complaints?"

Hiashi, head of the Hyuuga clan, stood. "I wish some clarification upon the shinobi exchange you request."

One of the Akatsuki members, Itachi in fact, stepped forward to address the question. "Yes?"

"Although you give us the choice as to who we send, I still do not trust such an act. How are we to know you will not experiment on whoever we send if they turn out to be a wielder of one of our bloodlines, or torture a member of any clan with family jutsu's?"

"Such acts are, to begin with, strictly against our laws and too immoral to even consider performing in my personal opinion. However, since we anticipated such a thought, we have prepared an appeasement for any who fear such a thing. The shinobi who comes to our village shall send out a weekly letter to your Hokage, just as our shinobi will send one to ourselves. This way we shall both know our shinobi are well and are not subject to anything…unpleasant."

"Letters however can be forged, and also easily edited to white out anything you might not wish us to learn about." Shibi, head of the Aburame clan, commented.

"And that is why the shinobi exchange is performed anew every year, to rotate the appointed shinobi and ensure their safety at the end of their service to our mutual villages."

Hiashi seemed pleased with the answers and sat down again. Shikaku, head of the Nara clan, stood with a sigh. "That is well and good, but what annoys me is how you have yet to reveal you village's location. How can we begin to trust those who lurk in the shadows, even while they speak of peace between our villages?"

Naruto stepped forward to respond this time. "Our village is new and still in a time of rebuilding. Because of this we've had to keep our level of secrecy and security very high, that way nobody could take advantage of us." He paused, the shadows made by his hat hiding his expression from those in the room. Shikaku took this moment to consider how he had said 'rebuilding' instead of 'construction'. "However, we will reveal our location once your shinobi comes to our village. It would prove pretty impossible to keep it secret then, right?"

Shikaku chuckled a little under his breath, his earlier unease dissolved. "I guess you're right. The Nara clan has nothing more to say in these matters." With that he sat down again.

Tsunade looked over the room, taking in the various faces of the council and clan heads. "Is there anyone else who wishes to question the treaty?" Nobody stood nor raised their voice. Mentally Tsunade let out a sigh of relief. "Then without further ado I shall-"

"Please wait a moment, Tsunade-san."

Everyone in the room turned to where the voice came from, and Tsunade frowned when she saw it was the old war hawk Danzo. _–It looks like Sarutobi-sensei was right. That man is up to something… -_ Not breaking her official air, Tsunade cleared her throat and faced the man with a serious face. "Yes council member Danzo? You wish to ask something of our honored guests?"

Danzo nodded, and as he stood Tsunade swore she saw a brief glint of something in the old mans eye. "Yes Tsunade-san, I do." He turned and faced the Akatsuki members. "Tell me, why do our honored guests stand before us now as they do? Hiding their faces and keeping their names to themselves? Isn't it required of them to be open in their identities during this ceremony, so as to ensure complete honesty upon both parties?"

Tsunade bit back a curse. _–Dammit, I was hoping no one would raise that particular tradition. –_ "Do to certain political issues our guests requested that their identities be mainly kept secret until the treaty had been signed or declined."

Danzo raised his visible eyebrow. "Oh? And what might these 'political issues' be?"

"I am not inclined to say, since I have already granted their request as you can see."

"But I'm afraid that does not make sense Tsunade-san." Danzo reached into his robe, pulling out three pictures. One was of Naruto, another Uindo, and the final Hinote. "These three were quite visible during their time in the Chuunin Exams, and their names were also known too. If nothing else, why must they remain hidden?"

"…"

Danzo smirked. "It seems something is quite amiss in this treaty ceremony. As such I feel that this ceremony must be postponed, indefinitely if needed, so long as all members of Akatsuki refuse to reveal themselves. Who seconds my decision?"

Several council members and Tsume, head of the Inuzuka clan, stood in silent agreement almost immediately. Tsunade frowned, sensing the strings pulled on by Danzo in this move, but with no evidence she could do nothing. The majority vote seemed in Danzo's favor moments later when Shibi stood as well, and seeing this Danzo nodded. "Well then Tsunade-san, it seems this treaty ceremony is over."

"Wait."

Tsunade and Danzo turned to look at the Akatsuki group. Itachi turned to face the others, and after a long whispered discussion he turned again and nodded toward Tsunade. "We shall reveal ourselves as Danzo-san has requested, so long as it means the treaty ceremony might be completed."

Danzo smirked once more, feeling his plan begin to succeed. "Then if would please removed yours hats?"

One by one the members of Akatsuki reached up and grabbed the brim of their hats, and in a unified move they removed them as well. The results were instant.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!" Tsume roared, her eyes becoming slit while a low growl echoed in the throat.

"Troublesome…" Shikaku muttered.

"Ah…" Hiashi closed his eyes in thought.

"…" A buzzing noise began to emanate from Shibi's coat.

"Oh boy…" Sasuke sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Tsunade!" One of council members shouted. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"My thoughts exactly…" Danzo muttered. "Please, Tsunade-san, explain to us why you, with advance knowledge of their identities, agreed to a treaty with a band of missing-nin such as these people are?"

Tsunade grimaced as Itachi, Naruto, Uindo, Hinote, Kisame, Yugito, and Haku all sighed in frustration. "Because, for one thing these people are not all missing-nin, and secondly I-"

"I'm afraid…." Danzo interrupted. "…That although some of these people are indeed unregistered in the bingo books, they might as well be due to their status." Again Danzo reached into his robe and pulled something out, this time a folder clearly marked with the kanji for 'Crime'. He opened it and flipped through a few pages, listing off several things as he read through. "Naruto Uzumaki, former jinchuriki of Konoha, went missing four years ago with no successful retrieval mission. Was suspected to have been kidnapped by Itachi Uchiha, but never confirmed. Yugito Nii, former jinchuriki of Kumo, went missing a year ago under mysterious circumstances. Haku, no surname indicated, wanted for assisting Zabuza Momochi in his attempted assassination of the Mizukage. She is reported to wield an unnamed ice bloodline. Hinote, no known surname, wanted for various crimes including robbery, arson, murder, and illicit conduct in numerous countries. She has shown skilled use of fire in many of her crimes and earlier in the Chuunin Exams." Danzo closed the folder and placed it on the table, a small smirk on his face. "All of these people were kept out of the bingo book due to their lack of shinobi rank, but have still been circulated through the bounty hunter networks of every land."

Uindo glanced over at his sister after hearing her crimes, and with a sheepish look Hinote silently apologized through her eyes. She knew he would be questioning her after all of this was over with.

"Quite frankly Tsunade-san, this is perhaps the worst blunder I have ever seen any leader make. To think you wish for us to sign a treaty with such dangerous people as these?" Danzo waved a hand over the gathered clan heads and council members. "I believe I speak for everyone present in saying that such a thing is now impossible."

With a heavy heart Tsunade numbly nodded, sending a silent apology to Naruto. "It seems you are correct Danzo. Therefore, I must now call an end to this treaty, and request that the members of Akatsuki…"

"Be restrained and taken for immediate execution." Before anyone could respond to his words, Danzo snapped his fingers.

Instantly ANBU surrounded the members of Akatsuki, but before they could move in to execute their orders a wave of killing intent washed over them. Itachi stood tall in front of the group, Sharingan spinning in the pinwheel shape of the Mangekyo Sharingan. Behind him, Naruto, Yugito, and Kisame were all pulling on their demonic chakra, turning their eyes red, yellow, and blue respectively as they used it to increase their already impressive amounts of killing intent. Uindo, Hinote, and Haku were also pouring on the killer intent, but to a much lesser degree so as to make sure nobody died of a heart attack.

"I'm afraid…" Itachi began.

"That we're not going anywhere!" Naruto finished, his words almost a growl.

"You see, we unfortunately saw this scenario." Uindo said.

"And so did Sandaime-sama!" Haku yelled.

"So to keep pointless bloodshed out of the way…" Yugito hissed.

"The old man went to the Daimyo to request some things." Kisame chuckled.

"Like say, his complete approval of our treaty." Hinote chirped.

"And a series of pardons for those officially in the bingo books, with no consequences for our actions." Itachi said.

"It was pretty easy really, especially since the old man told him everything about us and all." Naruto dropped Kyuubi's chakra and smiled, his teeth no longer like fangs. "And as an added bonus, our own Daimyo went ahead and sent a letter to the Fire Daimyo saying he supported our actions."

"In addition, from what Itachi-sensei told us, the letter also offered the Fire Daimyo various benefits, so long as the treaty was signed. To not have it be signed robs the Land of Fire of these benefits. Ones that would help it flourish even more and bring our own land along with it." Uindo added.

"How unfortunate really. It seems that your plans are going against all of this Danzo-san." Haku said, smiling all while. "But I'm sure the Daimyo would understand. After all, someone must have a good reason to ruin so much potential profit and benefits for the people and shinobi of the Land of Fire."

A mischievous smirk grew on Hinote and Yugito's face. "You DO have a good reason, right Danzo-san?" Hinote asked, Yugito laughing along with Nekomata in her head.

Stunned silence fell over all present, many of the council members looking like gaping fishes. Some of the clan heads were smirking at the sight, while the others thought over all that had been told. But Tsunade didn't care for them at the moment. She only cared to see how Danzo was responding to his plans being ruined so easily. Looking at him, she wasn't too surprised to see a frantic and skeptical look on his face.

"You speak as if all of this is true…" Danzo said slowly, as if he feared his own words betraying him somehow. "What proof do you have of this letter and all you spoke of?"

Itachi reached into his cloak and pulled out the second scroll given to him by Sarutobi, the kanji for 'Fire' looking like living flames in Danzo's mind. "I believe this will answer all your doubts and questions. If you would please read it yourself and confirm it Tsunade-sama?" He tossed it up to the woman, who caught it with ease, and for the next few minutes everyone watched her as she read over everything within it.

"…It seems what he speaks of is true." Tsunade failed to hide the triumphant smirk on her face. "And…it seems if we were to refuse this alliance, our Daimyo will decrease our funding by 20 percent and filter many of our missions over to Kazegakure."

"B-But, he cannot do that!" Danzo exclaimed.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is the position of Daimyo, the man who runs the very land that permits your village to exist in, really that meaningless?"

"Y-You…"

"Well then!" Tsunade clapped her hands together, her smile growing as she watched Danzo come close to having a stroke. "With this new information now available to us, I believe it is time we have a vote to see who approves or disapproves of this alliance. Will those in favor please stand?"

Slowly, many still stunned over the daring acts of Akatsuki, the clan heads all stood. The council remained seated, but then the two former teammates of the Sandaime, Koharu and Homura, stood. With their votes the majority was now with those in favor, and Tsunade felt close to laughing as she watched Danzo seethe.

"The majority stands in favor of the alliance. Therefore, I shall now sign the treaty along with the members of Akatsuki."

Tsunade walked down to the small ceremonial table, a pot of ink and quill pen neatly set to the side of the large scroll. Tsunade picked up the pen first, signing her name with a flourish, and one by one the Akatsuki all signed it as well. Once the final signature was finished and dry, Tsunade bit her thumb and pressed it gently on the side of the scroll. With a loud snap it closed, a powerful protection seal now over it to prevent anyone from destroying it. Tsunade handed it to one of the ANBU to take away to the archives, and then with a wave she dismissed the council and clan heads.

As the people slowly flowed out of the room, Naruto couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "Oh man that was close."

"Indeed." Itachi casually glanced to his side, taking note of the glare Danzo was sending to him and the others. "It seems Danzo was very adamant in eliminating us from the picture, although why I do not understand."

Tsunade snorted. "Knowing that man, he probably had some kind of scheme to gain more favor and power over me. Sensei's told me about how Danzo was and still is after the seat of Hokage. If that man took over, Konoha would be in its darkest hour."

"How was he able to command all of those ANBU like that Tsunade-sama?" Haku asked.

The others all turned to Tsunade, their curiosity over the strange event apparent. The blonde Hokage furrowed her brows in thought. "Hmm…that's a good question. It seems I'll have to keep an eye on that man more than I thought, the ANBU too."

"Not every root is healthy for the tree it supports." Uindo muttered. Tsunade nodded to the cryptic words, and then turned to Naruto.

"Naruto, shouldn't we be going already?"

"Huh?" Slowly, a look of realization crossed Naruto's face as Kyuubi reminded him of what he had forgotten. "Oh Shit, I forgot about Gaara!" In a blur of activity Naruto kissed Haku on the cheek and then grabbed Tsunade before vanishing with her in a plume of smoke.

"…What was that all about?" Kisame asked.

"I think Naruto-kun was talking about the sealing ceremony Tsunade-san and Jiraiya are supposed to perform on Gaara-san." Haku muttered, still smiling as she rubbed the kissed cheek.

"When were they going to do that anyway?" Yugito asked.

"10 minutes ago…" Without another word, Itachi walked out of the room, the others trailing after him.

XXXXX

With a bang the door to Danzo's office flew open, the man himself marching in with killer intent flowing off him. Behind him a ROOT operative quickly went to work repairing the doorway, while another appeared with a cup of tea to calm Danzo's nerves with. Danzo, before taking the tea, roared and swept the piles of paperwork off of his desk, and then with a sigh turned to grab the cup of tea. He sipped slowly at it, taking care to not crush to the cup in his still going rage.

"Damned Akatsuki…" He muttered. "They completely ruined my gamble, and now Tsunade is sure to keep a keen eye on me." He sipped the tea, his nerves already beginning to cool down. "But I anticipated this, didn't I? Yes, of course I did. And it's nothing I can't handle. I'll just reduce ROOT operations for a while, and then resume them fully once Tsunade has slacked in her observations." During this small monologue, his tea was refilled by the second ROOT shinobi. "Yes, that shall work. But perhaps a little insurance is needed. I suppose instigating some tension between Iwa and Konoha would do it, it's not like that village has any real power to threaten our village with. They're still pretty bad off from the war after all. They'll just be a nice diversion, turning her eye from me and to the outside world."

Setting his tea down finally, Danzo motioned for the two ROOT shinobi in the office with him. Instantly the first stopped repairing the door and the second set the tea tray down. "You two, I have a small mission for you." The two bowed silently. "I want you to head toward the Land of Earth and set up a small terrorist attack on the capitol. Make sure the supplies for the attack eventually connect back to the Land of Fire in some way. Be sure to avoid anything however that would make them point to Konoha."

The two bowed and vanished out the door without a noise. Danzo smirked, the cogs already moving again in his mind. "Perhaps you might have foiled my plans for now, but rest assured Akatsuki, I shall be victorious in the end."

XXXXX

Naruto practically dragged Tsunade through the long hallways of Konoha's hospital as he rushed down them. He would've used Shunshin to reach the room immediately, but due to various restrictions he was forced to walk right from the entrance all the way to the underground chamber where the sealing would take place in. Tsunade, not particularly happy with having her arm pulled out of its socket, kept up with the other blonde and forced him to slow down for her own sake.

"Come on Baa-chan, hurry up!" Naruto yelled.

"Easy brat, it's not like he's going anywhere or something. And could you please give me my arm back!?" Tsunade replied.

Naruto did let go of Tsunade's arm, but still kept up his speedy pace. Within minutes he reached the large double doors, and in seconds he slammed them open, causing the two occupants inside to turn and look at him.

"…You're late." Gaara muttered.

Jiraiya merely looked over the top of his notebook, and then resumed his writing.

"Ah, sorry we're late. The old geezers were really being hard on us." Naruto shrugged. "But it's taken care of now, so that just leaves you Gaara!" Tsunade walked up behind Naruto, flicking him on the back of his head. "Ow!"

"Annoying little brat…" She muttered. Nodding to Gaara, she walked over to Jiraiya and crossed her arms. "Alright Jiraiya, what's the plan exactly?"

"Pretty simply really…" Jiraiya began, still working hard on whatever notes he was making. "I've already drawn up the best seals to use in this little operation, now they just need to be placed up around the room in the right places."

With a loud rip Jiraiya suddenly tore our several pages of his notebook, and handing them to Tsunade she could see that each page held an intricate seal on them, some copies of one another and others completely original in their design. With Jiraiya's instructions she carefully placed them up around the room, while he removed Gaara's shirt and began writing seals all over his body. Naruto sat cross legged on the ground nearby, smiling at Gaara whenever the red head looked over at him.

"Now then Gaara, this will in no way be pleasant. But, if it works out, then you'll be free of the priest's spirit and still have Shukaku inside of you." Jiraiya explained. "But, you better brace yourself for a lot of pain. Even with Tsunade here helping keep you alive, this will be the most painful experience of your life, I guarantee it."

"None of that matters. So long as I can finally find peace within my own mind, then I would gladly endure pain for years if needed." Gaara replied, his voice full of conviction.

"Well thankfully you won't have to." Finishing his drawing, Jiraiya stood up and walked to one corner of the room. He drew a circle around where he stood, and then sat down in it with his hands in a hand sign. He glanced over at Tsunade, who had also drawn a circle and sat down in it. "Are you ready Tsunade?"

"Hai" And with that, they began.

Both Sannin flew through hand signs, chakra billowing around them before diving into the intricate seals all around the room. The seals glowed blue and green, and then from several of them a large collection of chakra chains shot out. They wrapped around Gaara, binding him and forcing the seal to form visibly under his tattoo. The seal glowed red as the chakra made contact with it, and then Gaara began to scream.

Naruto flinched as he watched the red head squirm and scream, his voice cracking from the sheer amount of pain he was in. The chakra chains rattled and shook, the paper they originated from flapping wildly in a nonexistent wind that threatened to shake them loose. But Jiraiya and Tsunade pushed on, Jiraiya fueling the sealing while Tsunade worked her healing magic down the chains to keep Gaara alive. In what seemed hours but actually a few minutes, something finally seemed to happen. The seal on Gaara's head began to pulse, like that of a heart, and from it seeped a strange black fluid. It slithered and squirmed in the air, reminding Naruto more of a living thing than a liquid. It slowly gathered in the air several feet away from Gaara, a form building as more and more of it left the seal and joined the rest of it. Crude limbs formed, and then a bulbous blob on what seemed to be shoulders. It stayed like this as more gathered and made it grow, but Naruto could already tell that it was the physical manifestation of the priest's spirit. It sickened him to see the corrupt and twisted soul.

_-Ugh, I can't believe something like that was inside Gaara this whole time! And Shukaku was forcibly fused with it too… -_ Naruto thought, gagging lightly as the black mass gurgled in an attempt to speak.

"**Behold Kit, the darkest form a human soul. Can't you just feel the negative emotions, the dark desires it holds?"** Kyuubi asked, chuckling lightly under his breath.

_-How was that thing ever a priest?! –_

"**True, it might have been pure once, but insanity and living with a Biju has definitely done it no good."** Naruto could feel Kyuubi grin within him. **"I bet he tastes pretty good though."**

Naruto grimaced and didn't reply. He could tell where the Kyuubi was going with this.

The black mass had now roughly taken on the size of a grown adult, and Gaara's screams had become hoarse as his mouth dried. Jiraiya and Tsunade also weren't faring very well. Jiraiya was sweating noticeably and his shoulders were slump, while Tsunade was breathing deep as her brows furrowed in deeper concentration. Thankfully the sealing was near completion, and with a loud rattle the chakra chains dissipated. Gaara slumped backward without the support to hold him, and after a small smile he drifted off into unconsciousness. The black mass, now completely free of the seal, began to truly take on a form instead of the crude shape it had. The limbs thinned and lengthened as hands and feet sprouted from the proper ends. The head became solid and the shadowy outline of facial features and hair began etching themselves on the surface. Clothing also began to appear over the body, but just like the rest of it they looked merely like a shadow. A staff formed in the left hand of the priests shadow body, and once it was complete it opened its eyes. They were red, solid and evil, and his mouth opened in twisted grin that screamed for blood.

"_GYAHAHAHAHA! FREE AT LAST BABY!"_ The priest screamed, his voice high pitched and close to how gravel sounded when rubbed against each other. _"OH HOW I LONGED FOR THIS DAY!"_

It broke out into more laughter at that, and while he did this Jiraiya quickly rushed through more hand signs. The few seals that had not activated during the sealing suddenly flared to life, more chains shooting out and wrapping around the priest. The only difference these chains seemed to have compared to the ones before was that each link had a small kanji for 'Bind' on it. The priest paused as he felt the chains wrap around him, and then he smirked at Jiraiya.

"_You fool! Do you honestly think these things can bind me?! ME!!"_ With those words the priest flexed, a pulse of dark spirit energy breaking the chains like tissue. The backlash sent Tsunade and Jiraiya flying back, but Naruto held firm as he stood to face the priest. His action did not go unnoticed, as the priest's soul twisted around in the air and smiled at Naruto. _"Oh, what's this? Some little brat thinks he's tough enough to kill me?"_ He broke out into laughter, twirling his staff around. _"Gyahahahahahaha! DIE!!"_

The priest charged Naruto, his staff and body emitting a dark aura. As he closed in to strike, Naruto's eyes flashed red before he raised a hand and grabbed the priest around the neck. Surprised at how Naruto was able to touch him, the priest only choked in response when Naruto casually swiped a now clawed hand at the staff, dispersing it in a cloud of black smoke. Naruto lowered his head, bangs shadowing his face, and then he lifted it again, showing now fully red slit eyes of the Kyuubi. He smirked, red chakra gathering around the hand that held the priest.

"_**Don't think so highly of yourself, weakling."**_ Kyuubi spoke, borrowing Naruto's mouth to speak so Tsunade and Jiraiya might hear him. _**"You might have stolen the power of a Biju for a time, but Shukaku pales in comparison to me."**_

Naruto pulled the priest closer, solid red eyes flinching under the red slit gaze Naruto bore into his head. The smirk widened into a gaping mouth of saliva covered fangs, a black line forming around the sides of the mouth as it widened to inhuman lengths. _**"Now see how it feels to live in the stomach of the mightiest Biju, KYUUBI NO KITSUNE!"**_

Naruto bit down on the priests head, his super sized mouth capable of swallowing the thing whole. This effectively cut off the girlish scream the priest had begun to let out. Slowly Naruto ate the priest's soul bit by bit, sickening sounds like that of breaking bones and crushed organs sometimes coming up from where he bit into. When he got down to the lower legs he simply raised his head to the ceiling, opening his mouth wide, and gulped both legs down in one go. He let out a sigh as he finished his impromptu meal, the black line around his mouth fading away as his mouth reverted back to its normal human size. Kyuubi's chakra also fled from him, and once his eyes reverted back into their normal blue Naruto shuddered in revulsion.

"That…was disgusting…" He muttered. "Tasted like black licorice, stale too." Kyuubi replied with a small burp inside his mind.

Naruto looked over to where Jiraiya and Tsunade were, and sighed as he saw their green faces. Jiraiya even dry heaved slightly when the images of what he had seen crossed his mind, while Tsunade had no reservations and proceeded to barf in the corner of the room.

"N-Naruto…" Jiraiya paused for a moment, another dry heave coming up. "What the hell did you…Kyuubi…what did you two do?!"

"Err…Kyuubi ate him, and I let him borrow my body for a moment so he could." Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "It was the most effective way to do it, although I suppose I could've just sucked him into the seal instead."

"N…Next time, please just do that…" Tsunade let loose another portion of her breakfast after she finished speaking. "Oh Kami-sama, let there be no next time…"

"**Hmph, pulling him into the seal would ruin all the taste."** The Kyuubi grumbled, and Naruto sweatdropped.

"Well, despite the…unorthodox elimination of the priest, the sealing went off without a hitch." Jiraiya said, looking considerably less green. "Gaara will probably be unconscious for a couple hours, but otherwise no harm done."

"Thank goodness…" Naruto ran a hand through his hair as he looked over at the still form of Gaara on the ground. "Now hopefully he can…" He trailed off, becoming alert as demonic chakra began to flow from Gaara's body.

"_**Ugh…"**_ Gaara's gourd, having been laid against the wall during the sealing, suddenly dissolved into sand and began wrapping itself around its master's body. Gaara's right arm and chest was completely swallowed, taking on the demons clawed arm and large gut, while only the right side of his face changed into Shukaku's. Both eyes opened as he sat up, two yellow star eyes in two pools of black. Gaara, or rather Shukaku, glanced around the room, his expression sleepy and disoriented.

"_**Fuck…what the hell happened?"**_ Shukaku muttered, rubbing his clawed hand atop his head. _**"Last thing I remember…ah, that freaking priest! He actually sealed me!!"**_ The sleepy look he had quickly dissolved, replaced now with rage and a low growl. _**"Wait till I get my hands on him…"**_

"Shukaku?" Shukaku turned around, finally noticing the three humans in the room with him. Naruto carefully stepped forward, his eyes narrow as he watched for any sudden movements. "You're Shukaku right? The real one, not the psychotic one I've seen before, right?"

"_**Hmm…you look familiar…"**_ Shukaku peered at Naruto closely, his claws tapping on the ground as he thought. _**"Oh yeah, I recognize you now! You're that brat who battled me back in that tower place! You've got Kyuubi in you."**_

"Yeah I do, and you're in Gaara."

"_**Eh?"**_ Shukaku looked down at himself, finally taking note of his partial transformation and the human half along his left side. He titled his head to the side, as if confused again, but then he smirked. _**"Oh yeah, Gaara, so that's his name huh? I was always screaming for blood and stuff with that freaking priest in me. I guess I never got around to memorizing his name."**_

"You're…not upset?" Jiraiya slowly asked. "You are sealed you know, I was sure you'd be…"

"_**Angrier?"**_ Shukaku laughed, but luckily it only seemed in mirth. _**"Nah, why should I? That fucking priest bastard is gone, and I'm no longer a mindless bloodthirsty beast. I could care less if I'm in some human right now, so long as I'm sane and alive."**_

Naruto sighed. "Thank goodness…" Shaking his head, Naruto cleared his thoughts and raised an eyebrow. "Shukaku, how come you're even controlling Gaara right now? I thought for sure that Ero-Sennin's seal would eliminate that."

"_**He goofed."**_ Shukaku smiled as he heard Jiraiya squawk in indignity. _**"He did fix the seal to be stronger, and removed the priest, and yes he did prevent me from taking over even when Gaara is asleep. But he didn't take into account for when the brat is unconscious. Even when sleeping the brain is slightly active, but when unconscious it's completely shut down. And that gives me the chance to take over, no matter how rare that possibly might be."**_

Tsunade tensed. "And now that you're out?"

Shukaku shrugged. _**"I'll probably just enjoy the fresh air and drink some booze. You do have some good sake around here right?" **_Tsunade sweatdropped and nodded, while Jiraiya laughed nearby.

Naruto smirked, walking closer to Shukaku and patting the demon on the shoulder. "If you get rid of all that sand then I'd be more than happy to take you somewhere and have a drink with you Shukaku."

Shukaku looked at Naruto, running his eyes up and down the blonde's body. _**"Aren't you a little young for a human to be drinking?"**_

Naruto shrugged in response. "I could say the same for you Shukaku. Gaara's the same age as me, and he's your body right now." Blue eyes shifted to red and his whisker marks thickened. _**"And besides, who said it would be Naruto drinking with you?"**_ Kyuubi asked. Shukaku grinned, and after all his sand changed back into a gourd the two jinchuriki left in a swirl of sand and smoke.

Jiraiya and Tsunade both glanced at each other, the pervert smirking and the Hokage wearing a befuddled expression. "Should we do something Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked.

"Nah…let the two have some fun. They might be demons, but Naruto can deal with Kyuubi at any time and that goes for Shukaku too." Jiraiya waved a hand dismissively. "Plus, it'll be fun to see if two jinchuriki can even get drunk."

XXXXX

As ash filled the air and lava flowed around him, a man wrapped in a red cloud cloak stood with utter calm as he gazed up at the towering peak of Mt. Itsumaden. The second of the volcano's two daily eruptions had just begun, and if it weren't for the small earplugs placed in his ears the man might've become deaf just by the powerful roar the volcano made as it spewed its contents out onto the earth around it. The earth shook and trembled, a series of cracks forming along the edge of the nearby lava river. The river bank collapsed, the new expanded river reaching as far as where the man stood, but before the lava could even begin flowing in the new shape of the river the man was suddenly no longer there.

Without a sound he set down along the ledge of the volcano's rim, the intense heat of the lava not affecting him. He lifted his head once more to seek the peak of the fountain of lava and ash, but to no avail as the clouds above blocked that view. Loosing interest, he looked back at the pillar of lava, and the single eyehole of his mask flashed red before black flames shot toward it.

When lava met flames both struggled for a time. But slowly, inch by inch, a small indentation was made in the flowing mass of lava spewing up to the heavens. The man waited until a solid half sphere of black flames existed in the lava flow, and then he stepped in, his feet unaffected by the black flames of his jutsu. The flames pushed further into the lava, the other half of the sphere forming from black flames so as to protect the man from lava in all directions. When the strange sphere had reached the center of the lava, it suddenly dived down, going deep within the volcano's core.

The man watched with slight interest as lava suddenly was replaced with empty air, an expansive cavern stretching out in every direction around him with numerous rock outcroppings. He could guess that he was now inside the mountain near the base of it, an area supposedly filled with lava but in reality nothing of the kind. He touched down on red stone, and the black flames around him died off despite their rumored longevity, so mighty was his power over them. He dusted off some stray ash that had managed to touch him, and then turned to the out of place shrine.

The shrine itself was not very tall, only as tall as the man himself and not too much wider than him either. The base was a square piece of carved stone with a bronze bowl set within it, and above it stood a golden statue of a phoenix. The talons of the mighty legendary bird were positioned on either side of the bowl, and its wings closed in rest with its head set against its breast like in sleep. The man gazed at the statue, and then let loose a dark laugh.

"Fufufufufu…So this is the entrance, eh? I'm not so impressed, considering the dangerous conditions I had to pass through to reach here." From inside his cloak the man retrieved a small brown sack, the contents shifting slightly as he unraveled the rope binding the opening. Carefully he poured grey ash into the bronze bowl, making sure none spilt or was wasted. When it was all gone from the sack he tossed it aside, and he raised one finger with a blue flame floating atop it.

"From the ashes of this forgotten hero, a soul lost without a name, I awaken you." The man said, recalling the words that spoke of what he needed to do. He touched the ashes with the flame, and they ignited in a mystical blue flame that consumed the phoenix statue above it. The statue moved, its wings opening like in flight and the head pointing up toward the mouth of the volcano far above. The beak opened and a loud cry echoed through the cavern, and amidst the echoes the sound of shifting rock could be heard from behind the shrine.

The man walked around the shrine and stopped at the now opened entrance of his true destination. He looked over his shoulder at the still burning shrine, and then up toward the mountain he stood in. With a hidden smirk Uchiha Madara thought of something funny, at least in his opinion.

"You ask over and over, 'How Long'?" He let out yet another dark laugh. "Well then, oh mighty mountain, I believe I finally have an answer for you." Sharingan flared to life behind his mask. "Right now, now is the time for you to bend to my will…Suzaku." He slipped through the entrance, the stone and ground sliding closed behind him. Not once did he notice the golden tear that the phoenix statue shed.

XXXXXXXXXX

**Author's Note:** Content wise, I'm very pleased. I've never tried writing anything political before, so trying to do a treaty ceremony was an interesting experience. Still, the way I presented this chapter has me a little peeved. It just...it's too jumbled in my opinion. But still I'm happy with it all the same, and so I present it to you, the reader.

Mostly this chapter was to eliminate two things, the treaty ordeal and Gaara's seal problems. Now that's out of the way and we can get to the real juicy stuff. Next chapter, as a little preview for you all, Akatsuki finally leaves Konoha and Kabuto reaches the outskirts of Kirigakure. But something still remains hidden, and you'll only find out what when you read the next chapter for real. Oh, and as another teaser, from chapter 14 on I'll be doing something very special for you all. Until the next chapter, enjoy!


	13. SUPER SPECIAL AUTHOR'S NOTE

**SUPER SPECIAL EDITION AUTHOR'S NOTE: LISTEN UP!!**

In a dark void, full of nothingness and ideas, five portals opened as one amongst the darkness. Lightning arched and formed a curtain of light, fire bellowed from a deep pit, earth formed from nothing and created a towering mountain, sand whipped around in a sandstorm, and mist gathered so thickly that not a speck of darkness could be seen through it. From each of these portals stepped out a man, and with a snap of their fingers the portals closed shut behind them. The darkness changed and warped, forming a simple white floor for them to stand on with a white ball of light above them for illumination.

The man who stepped from the fire took a step forward, looking over his comrades with an amused expression. He adjusted his glasses and ran a hand through his wild red hair. "Man, this is certainly weird." He said.

The man who stepped from the lightning nodded, the light ball above them casting the headband around his eyes into darkness at the motion. "Indeed, but it certainly is an interesting event. After all, it's not everyday we 'Ghosts' get to meet each other."

The man who phased out from the mountain laughed, his bare muscled chest rippling with his loud and booming laughter. "AH, WHAT A GLORIOUS DAY! HOW GOOD IT IS TO SEE ALL OF YOU AGAIN MY COMRADES! COME, WE SHOULD CELEBRATE THIS OCCASION WITH A HEARTY BEVERAGE!"

"Keep it down man." Muttered the sand walker. He adjusted his grip on the large package on his back and rubbed his pinky finger in his left ear. "You're still way too loud for my taste."

The mist figure smiled, but the headband around his mouth concealed such an action. "But he has a point, it is pretty nice to see all of us here."

"But...why are we here again?" Fire man asked.

"To talk a little...well, more like inform the readers of what's happening right now." Lightning man replied.

"Oh yeah, the dude's going somewhere or something, right?" Sand man asked.

"OH SUCH A TRAGEDY! HIS WONDERFUL ART SHALL SUFFER FROM HIS ABSENCE! OH THE HORR-" Rock man began, only to be shut up as Mist man clubbed him with his sword.

"Now you're getting on our nerves." He muttered.

"Now, now, no fighting you two." Lightning said. He quickly looked over at Sand and added, "And that includes you." Sand man merely stuck out his tongue at that.

"How about we get to the point of this whole thing? I think the readers might be getting annoyed at all the mystery of this author's note." Fire man said.

"Should we tell them our names?" Lightning asked. Fire considered this for a moment, but then shook his head. "That'll all come later...MUCH later in some cases."

Lightning nodded, then coughed to clear his throat. With a snap of his fingers a small microphone appeared in his hands, and with another clearing of his throat he turned to face the readers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, fanfiction writers and readers, we welcome you all to this...rather odd and quite random Author's Note from Oni244!"

Sand man pulled out a small recorder and pressed play, causing a cheesy round of applaudes. He then stopped it and placed it back from wherever he got it.

"I know this is strange, like I said before, but Oni244 decided to try something new this time around and so...well here we are." Lightning handed the mic over to Fire man, who took it and then adjusted his glasses.

"This type of Author's Note format will be a rare and special occasion one, mostly seen every 15 chapters during the special author's note Oni mentioned before in which he would explain all of his original jutsu in. But that doesn't mean that's the only time you'll see it."

In a flash the mic dissapeared from Fire man's hand, and Mist man jumped in front of him with his slick red hair smacking Fire man in the face.

"That's right! He'll also be using it whenever a large absence in his writing will occur, such as this occasion is all about. You see, Oni244 is heading overseas for a sort of vacation. He'll be visiting England, Scotland, and France on this cool little tour he's going on with a bunch of his classmates and a few teachers."

Sand man tapped Mist man's shoulder, and when he turned to look the mic was stolen from him by Sand man.

"So like because of this nothing is likely to be done for a long while. He tried really hard to get Chapter 13 out before he left, but complications rose up in the middle of doing it and so it took too long. Trust me though, the dude has made some awesome progress in the story with what he has done. Also a nice little scene happens in it where H-"

Lightning man appeared and kicked Mist man in the head. As he went flying back, Lightning grabbed the floating mic and calmly faced the readers again.

"Sorry, but there won't be any previews of the next chapter in this author's note. But in their place is something even more special..."

Rock man walked over and took the mic, and then with a loud laugh that caused the mic to screech he began to address the audience.

"THAT'S RIGHT MY COMRADES! TODAY WE SHALL JOURNEY INTO THE FIERCE MEMORIES OF THE LONG AND ARDUOUS FOUR YEAR'S THAT NARUTO-KUN AND ITACHI-SAN WENT THROUGH! OH SUCH A GLORIOUS DAY!"

Four fists all landed of Rock man's face, sending him flying back while the mic floated in place in the air. "YOU'RE TOO LOUD!" Shouted the other four. Fire man recovered first and grabbed the mic.

"To translate: To appease anyone who might be dissapointed in missing Chapter 13 coming out soon, Oni244 has decided to preview some things from Flashback Arc in this Author's Note. Please note, since these previews have yet to be refined, many of what you see here might or might not actually appear once Chapter 14 comes out...Yes, it's going to happen very soon."

"So without further ado..." Mist man began.

"It's showtime!" Sand man finished.

"To further enhance this preview, please listen to the Doctor Who intro/ending music to futher enhance this experience. It's somewhat of a favorite of Oni's." Lightning said, smiling as he helped Rock man up and pressed play on a small remote. A large screen suddenly rolled down from the darkness and the light orb above dimmed. A projector appeared and began playing, and numbers began to count down upon the screen.

3...2...1...

XXXXXXXXXX

_Itachi stared across the fire at Naruto, thinking over how to break the news gently. Then, with a mental shrug, he decided to go head first. "Naruto...8 years ago, the Kyuubi was sealed within you."_

_XXXXX_

_"Who are you?"_

_The man stepped out from the shadows of the forest. With the morning light now illuminating him, Itachi could now make out the mans large black cloak. It had a large collar that obscurred the mans lower face, but his spiky orange hair and various piercings were still quite noticable. The only other noticable features about him were the red clouds on his cloak and his strange grey-ringed eyes._

_"My name is of no concern to you..." The man said. He raised a hand and pointed a finger at Itachi. "However, I have a buisness proposition for you."_

_XXXXX_

_Itachi looked down at Naruto with a saddened expression. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but this is the only way."_

_"B-But, Itachi-sensei!"_

_"No Naruto-kun." Itachi shook his head and kneeled in front of Naruto. He placed a hand on the boys shoulder to hopefully reassure him. "This is the only way. If we were to go against Leader-sama, then you and I would both be dead, and the Kyuubi in their hands."_

_Naruto's new partner finally grew impatient with the mushy scene and pushed off from the wall. "Really touching, but I think it's about time me and my...partner get going, un."_

_XXXXX_

_"So that's why you guys left huh? Pretty interesting story." Uindo said. Naruto nodded and took another bite of his rabbit. "Yeah, so what about you?"_

_XXXXX_

_"The Seven Swordsmen weren't broken up because we went rogue." Zabuza explained. He raised his zanbato and pointed it at Kisame. "It was because of Kisame here, him and the beast within him."_

_"Eh?" Kisame blinked in surprised and looked down at himself. He looked up when he saw nothing wrong. "What the hell are you talking about?"_

_XXXXX_

_"Akatsuki has to be stopped, and it's up to us to stop them." Itachi said. He leaned forward and placed his hands on the table. "Are you in?"_

_XXXXX_

_"W-Wait a mi-Ow!-Hinote calm down-Hey!-Jeeze wil you just-" Uindo finally stopped talking once Hinote pulled out one of her scimitars and encased it in fire. Without warning his eyes turned green and a mighty gust of wind knocked Hinote down onto her ass. "HINOTE!"_

_"Huh?" Seeing the green eyes Uindo now sported, Hinote grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "Oops! Sorry Uindo, didn't know it was you."_

_XXXXX_

_Naruto was happy. His partner was finally leaving him alone, thinking he was obedient, Leader-sama was off somewhere so his terrifying aura was not filling the air, and soon enough Zabuza and Haku were going to return with a bunch of special supplies for their attack in tow. Today was indeed a great day, until he smelled and then saw Zabuza's charred form. Haku was not nearly as bad, but she had a constant blush as she tried to keep the rags that used to be her battle kimono on over her body._

_"Um...I take it things didn't go well?" Naruto asked. Zabuza and Haku both glared at him, although Haku's glare was ruined when she began blushing again after the rags over her chest began falling._

_XXXXX_

**_"So you think you can control me and my brethren, just because you were the first to sign our contract in over 1,000 years?"_**

_Naruto gulped, but he stared into the giant eyes despite the fear within him. The beast stared back, judging the small mortal before him. After what seemed hours, it let loose a plume of smoke from its nostrils and raised its head. **"You indeed have a good soul, despite the demon wrapped around it. As such, I believe only a quick test will be needed to prove your worth instead of the usual tasks."**_

_Naruto sighed in relief, until he saw the glint appear in the beasts eye. _-Oh shit... -

_XXXXX_

_"You are all fools if you think you can defeat me." Pein said. He slammed his hands down on the ground, and in five plumes of smoke he summoned five additional people to his side. Each had his Rinnegan and Akatsuki cloak, along with orange hair and various body piercings. Then, as if it wasn't scary enough, all six of them spoke as one._

_"Now you shall see my true power, and walk the Rikudo no Pein."_

_XXXXX_

_"Today, we mach to war!" Itachi yelled._

_XXXXX_

_"The Land of Water has suffered a lot over the years, and as long as people like the Daimyo and Mizukage continue to run things, nothing will change." Zabuza muttered. He looked at Naruto, a sorrowful look in his eyes. "I tried to change it all once, and you know how that ended."_

_"But now, things are different Zabuza-san." Haku said. She walked over to Naruto and placed hand on the boys shoulder. "Now, we have precious people to give us strength, and to fight with us as well."_

_Naruto nodded. "Yeah..." He looked over the small island village, and clenched his fists._

_XXXXX_

**_"Unforgivable...Unforgivable!"_**

_Chakra bubbled around him, red and black with his own blood. Naruto's eyes became slit within seconds, and then completely red, the color of blood and rage. He turned away from her still form and faced her murderer, three chakra tails forming from the cloak enveloping him. The fourth began to form, and Naruto bellowed the last words he would say for a long time to come._

**_"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!_**

_XXXXXXXXXX_

The screen turned dark and then vanished in a plum of smoke, the projector following it. The light orb above brightened and the five figure under it all nodded toward each other. One by one they vanished back into the portals they came from, until only the man who emerged from the sandstorm remained.

"Right...well that's all there is dudes. Oni hopes you're all interested in what's to come, but asks that you all be patient until he can return and actually write some of that stuff for real." He said. He pulled out a small pack of cigarettes and raised one to his mouth, lighting it with a quick spark of lightning. Taking a quick puff, he placed the pack within his pocket and snapped his fingers. The sandstorm portal formed behind him and he stepped half into it, before waving at the readers.

"See ya in the story dudes!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

-Oni244


	14. IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Author's Note of Extreme Lateness and FUCKED UP STUFF!!**

So let's do a small checklist, okay? Try not to kill me through your computer screens before I finish.

_Writer's Block?:_ CHECK.  
This thing has been the major problem since I've returned. I've kept coming back to try and finish the next chapter, but every time I do I end up writing and then erasing over five pages of junk. I've even put this on hold and started reading some real books from real authors (it's my way of getting back into the swing of writing), but even that doesn't really do anything. Then I started reading my own story from the beginning to reacquaint myself with the story flow, but...well...see _Personal Dislike of Writing_

_Real Life?:_ CHECK  
I've started college, have been at it for a little while now, and it's mostly sucked up my free time during the day. It's probably not nearly as hard as others have it, but still I've had to really cut back on all my personal likes and hobbies to focus on it enough to pass my classes. So updates will never be scheduled anymore and pretty much come whenever I have the time. Of course, I have to actually start updating again for that to really count...(sweat drop). Want more details? See after _Personal Dislike of Writing_

_Changing Ideas?:_ CHECK  
As any author could tell you, especially a fanfiction author who's story revolves around a still going manga in real life, ideas come and go like that (snaps fingers). Now not too much has really changed in my story, especially when it comes to the main plot and such, but details _behind_ it has. Mostly details involving people like Madara Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, and the various Kage's of other nations.

-- Shisui I feel has never really been given the proper spotlight in any fanfiction. He exists in them for about as long as he's needed to be killed, and even then they don't go into details about his appearance, skills, background, and personality. I want to give Shisui what he deserves, give him life instead of simply painting him into the corner of my masterpiece. And the only way to do that...

-- The Kage's, in the manga, are all slowly being revealed. As of this author's note, we know of the Hokage(Tsunade), Kazekage(Gaara), Raikage(Kirabi's older brother), and a former Mizukage(Madara). In my story, only Tsunade is going to be the same. It's not too much of a spoiler really for me to say simply that Madara never took a position of Kage, in any land, especially not Mizukage in my story. The Mizukage I've made has already been spoken of by Naruto as being a sadistic and cruel man, but I haven't really gone too far into developing him or the remaining Seven Swordsmen, two of which still remained with him during the untold 4 years in my story. As such, with two more Kage's needed to be made for my story, I have to really delve into developing my characters more so that they're more than simply a bad guy or Kage that the main characters barely know and deal with in just one chapter or more. No, they need to live just like Shisui, which again can only be done by...

-- Lastly there's Madara. Ah Madara, the big bad, mask wearing leader of Akatsuki and former clan head of the Uchiha's. So much to do with him, so much...And I'm not telling ya'll a damn thing too! (Nyah! (sticks out tongue))

_Personal Dislike of Writing?:_ CHECK, CHECK, CHECK!!  
Now this is perhaps the most important problem of them all, far more so even than real life and writer's block. You see, after I re-read my story from beginning to end, I realized something. The story was good, I'll allow myself that much praise, but the details were sketchy and, being the author, I knew that there were holes in the plot that would only expand as the story, as it was, went on. It probably wouldn't have mattered if I had simply broken my writer's block before re-reading it, and I doubt anyone would've cared about the holes, but I did re-read it and I _do_ care.

-- Problem 1: Naruto in this story is powerful, so this does count as a Super!Naruto story. I planned for that, and the enemies he'll face by the end will give him a damn good run for his money. But how does he do it, how does he go from a first year student in the Academy to a member of the old and later the new Akatsuki that he personally helped create by fighting alongside Itachi and the others? How did he manage to fight a two year war, keep the whole damn thing a secret to the outside world, and still manage to kill the Mizukage personally?(Spoilers, Gasp!) How did he go from zero, to hero? Some people don't give too much detail behind such things, and that's fine, because it works in most cases. Most people don't give an explanation behind the lost years in Naruto's life, during which he of course becomes Super!Naruto. But I planned to, I wanted to show what happened, because there was practically an whole story by itself involved, and I made an entire arc for the sole purpose of telling the tale to you. But then, when I looked at how Naruto was during the Chuunin Exam arc, along with several other flaws behind it, I realized something was wrong. Not telling you more about it though.

-- Problem 2: Backstory is often the flawed aspect of even the best fanfiction author's story. How did this guy get so strong, who did this or that against these people or that person, why can't so and so do this or why is it that the problem they have is so hard yet stupid, and the most infamous of them all...the Biju. The Biju just by themselves have been the center point behind over a hundred different forms of history for any fanfiction, since nobody can actually say anything solid about them or where they came from. Hell, I doubt we'll ever get a straight answer about them, not even from Kishimoto. And although some of them have actually been revealed in the manga, the infamous fan-made Legend of the Tailed Beasts has more influenced what the Biju are in fanfictions than the actual stuff, and I myself use LoftheTB for the Biju in my story...to a point. But the Biju are only a piece of my own stories backstory that I need to define, and that's all I'm saying about this problem.

-- Problem 3: Relationships, whether simply talking about teams or love, are a diverse topic in terms of details. I'm sure all of you are already familiar with the usual NaruHina kind of stories that fill this website.  
Ex. ("Oh Naruto-kun! I love u, pleas kiss me!" Hinata cried. "Okay Hinata-chan, u are my one tru love!" Naruto replied.) I intentionally used 'u' and misspellings to prove my point.  
...I may have exaggerated, even in that small example, but the point stands. True author's build a real relationship, something full of love, hate, problems, sorrow, lust, beginnings and ends, and with proper grammar and spelling! True love can and does have it's place sometimes, but not often, so the author must show that. Even friendship relationships need building to be real, and not even Naruto can really just become close friends with anyone. The only reason he gets along with canon Gaara and canon Haku, despite having only been around the two for only a few hours each time, is because they all understand each other, Haku because of their troubled pasts and Gaara the same with their status of jinchuriki added on. In my story, Naruto x Haku does have history, and a reasonable explanation for why Zabuza's tool comes to be the Haku already shown in my story, but not enough for me to be happy with once I start telling the story behind the 4 years.

-- Problem 4: OC's...damn them, damn them all to hell, even the ones I make! Original Character's can either be some of the best people in a story, the uber powerful guy that practically steals all the limelight from the main characters, a good side/support character that helps other canon characters whenever the story calls for it, be a person that's killed off and simply there to make that action possible, make things normally impossible possible, or fall into that horrid and terribly unwanted title of Mary Sue's. My OC's, Hinote and Uindo, are not Mary Sue's, but hold all the potential to be one if I do them and their history wrong. And they're not the only one's I have to watch out for...nuff said.

IN CONCLUSION!!

I've already done one re-write of this story, but that has apparently failed to do this story justice. It's still good, oh no don't get the idea it isn't, but this story can be so much more. And so, despite everything inside me telling me not to, I am indeed putting this thing on Hiatus as of right now, so that I can re-write this thing from the ground up! And the funny part about all of this? I decided the fate of this story by flipping a bloody coin. It landed on heads, care to guess what that meant?

Go ahead and call the hitmen, I deserve it, really. I'm sorry for doing this, but I really can't finish this story until I re-write it. &#! I hate doing this, I really really do! But...sigh. On the small plus side, I'm not going to erase any chapters and I'm going to keep this story up until the new version is complete. From there, I guess I'll leave it to a vote as to what'll happen to the old version. In fact, I'm setting up that vote once I finish this author's note. It'll be on my author page, go and vote whenever you feel like it.

Also...in case nobody ever noticed, I've put up a small collection of story ideas that I've decided to put up for adoption. It's story ideas that I personally can't seem to write, but also personally believe shouldn't simply be discarded because of that. They're actually pretty good I think, and I'd love it if someone would contact me and ask to adopt it. I'll even let people adopt the same story even after someone already has. And as a bonus, once you do start writing it, I'll leave a link to your page so people can go and read it. Seriously, people, think about it.

Well that's all for now...sorry once again...peace.

-Oni244


End file.
